Washington Sheriff Faces Charges For Chasing African-American Newsboy
Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT / EFE
A Perce County Sheriff in Washington State who allegedly followed a african american man who delivered newspapers, falsely accused the man of threatening his life and summoned dozens of officers on the scene to stop him, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Pierce County Sheriff, Ed Troyer, was charged with a crime of false reporting and a crime of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant in connection with the incident, Washington State Attorney General’s Office Bob Ferguson said in a statement, on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Ferguson filed the charges against the Sheriff Ed troyer in Pierce County District Court.
After the charges were filed, Troyer told CNN that the attorney general briefed the media on the allegations, before informing him or Troyer’s attorney, and “on the night of the incident, I was doing what I have done for decades: investigating the possibility of criminal activity after neighbors and I had repeatedly become victims of property crime. ” Troyer He added that he believes the charges are politically motivated.
The Governor of Washington, Jay inslee, announced in April that it had instructed the state attorney general to investigate what happened, calling the initial reports of the incident “very disturbing.”
What happened
The accusations stem from an incident that occurred on January 27, during which Troyer met with Sedrick Altheimer while the latter was delivering newspapers, according to a probable cause determination statement filed by Ferguson’s office. The statement describes the incident.
In january Altheimer He usually started his shift as a newspaper delivery boy around midnight and finished deliveries around 3 a.m.
Altheimer told investigators that while working early January 27, he noticed that “a white van appeared to be following him,” and police reports and body camera images showed it to be Troyer, according to the statement.
Altheimer he eventually stopped in a driveway to drop a newspaper at a house and decided to approach the truck to ask why he was being followed, the statement said. He asked Troyer if he was a police officer and he asked if he was following him “because I am black?”
Troyer, who did not identify himself as the sheriff or a law enforcement officer, allegedly told Altheimer that his wife was African American and began questioning him and accusing him of being a thief.
Altheimer got back to his car and drove away and after Troyer began to follow him again, turned around, stopped his vehicle in the middle of a street in front of the vehicle of Troyer He came closer and started taking pictures.
The attorney general alleges that Troyer called the “officer line” at the county 911 dispatch desk. and said that “I caught someone in my driveway who just threatened to kill me.”
The dispatcher handled the call with the highest priority, and more than 40 law enforcement officers began to flock to the scene, according to the statement.
When the first officers arrived and saw the two cars parked in the middle of the street, they informed the dispatcher that they did not need as many units. Altheimer informed the officers that Troyer He was following him, the prosecutor’s statement noted.
Troyer told another officer that Altheimer He never threatened him and that he didn’t see any weapons, then added that they should let him go if he was a newspaper boy.
If convicted, Troyer could face up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $ 5,000, according to the press release.
You puof interest:
– “Somebody Help Me”: Ohio Police Throw African-American Paraplegic From His Car
– Justice Department won’t press charges against Wisconsin officer who shot Jacob Blake 7 times
– New video reveals Latino youth shot and killed by California police was not armed
.
