The prosecution presented its first witness Thursday in the criminal trial against Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer.
Charges were filed against Troyer after a confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier last year. He is charged with one count of false reporting and one count of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant.
Former Tacoma Police Department Officer Cory Ventura was one of the first officers to respond to the scene on the morning of Jan. 27, 2021.
Body cam video shown in court showed the tense situation officers responded to minutes after Troyer called an emergency dispatcher saying newspaper carrier Sedric Altheimer was threatening to kill him.
The prosecution maintains the threats were a lie.
Ventura testified for the prosecution, saying the impression was that Troyer’s life was in danger, triggering a law enforcement response at the highest priority level.
Ventura’s body camera video from the incident shows that Altheimer was agitated when officers arrived. In the video, Altheimer told responding officers he was delivering newspapers in the sheriff’s neighborhood when Troyer followed him around in his personal car.
Altheimer said he finally went up to the sheriff’s car to ask him why he was following him.
Ventura testified that Altheimer was eventually allowed to leave, saying in court, “We determined through our investigation that no crime was committed.”
After the interaction with Altheimer, Ventura said officers were called to go to Troyer’s house about a newspaper being maliciously thrown in Troyer’s yard.
Ventura said, again, responding officers determined no crime had occurred.
During cross-examination, the defense challenged how many officers responded to the scene.
Dispatcher records show 40 units were dispatched.
But Venutara says 10 officers responded, after others were called off, including nine Tacoma Police Department officers and one Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputy. In court today, Troyer’s 911 call that triggered the response was played in court.
The defense asked why the dispatcher sent a large response with the highest priority call, even though Troyer only asked for one or two cars and didn’t request a high priority alert. Dispatcher Conrad Shadel says the sheriff told him his life was being threatened four times
“In my perception of what was going on, waiting any amount of time could be a life-or-death situation,” said Shadel. “In the moment my concern was his immediate safety. When an officer or a deputy or whatever is saying that they’re in danger my focus as a dispatcher is getting units there quickly.”
After the incident, some of the responding officers had a text thread venting their frustrations with the sheriff and what transpired that morning.
“Did you also call sheriff Troyer a 'freaking douchebag?'” asked Troyer’s Defense Attorney Nick Gross.
“Yes,” responded Officer Aaron Baron.
Officer Baran explained why he called the sheriff that term.
“I would believe that we were in that situation of this high-profile case because of the actions of the sheriff,” said Officer Baran.
If convicted, Troyer could face up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
Closing statements in the trial are expected on Dec. 8, according to the Pierce County website.