PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer said Tuesday he will not be running for sheriff in this year's election.
Troyer, who was elected sheriff in 2020, has been with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department since 1985. Craig Gocha, Darin Harris, Keith Swank and Patti Jackson have been declared candidates for the Pierce County sheriff election.
Troyer's nearly 40-year tenure with the department includes assignments as a patrol deputy in Lakewood, University Place, and the Peninsula Detachment and involvement with the community support team, crime stoppers, burglary reduction team and FBI gang task force.
Troyer was appointed as Pierce County's public information officer in 1999. He served as a spokesperson for the department until 2020 when he was elected sheriff.
In 2022, Troyer was found not guilty on two charges connected to a January 2021 incident involving a Black newspaper carrier.
Troyer faced one charge of false reporting and one charge of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant after he allegedly claimed on an officer line to 911 dispatch that Sedrick Altheimer, a Black newspaper carrier, threatened to kill him in January 2021.
Altheimer settled his lawsuit with Troyer and the county for just over $500,015 in November 2023. Despite the agreement, Pierce County said there was no admission of liability or wrongdoing.
According to Altheimer's testimony during the trial, he was working on his paper route at about 1:40 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2021. He then noticed a white SUV following him.
After spotting the SUV three times, Altheimer said he walked up to the car after delivering a paper. Altheimer said he asked Troyer, who was driving, why he was following him, if he was a cop and if it was because he was Black. He said Troyer accused him of being a "porch pirate."
After Altheimer delivered a few more newspapers, he said he saw Troyer's car again, and then police started to show up.