TACOMA, Wash. — The Tacoma Ministerial Alliance gathered Tuesday to join a chorus of other community leaders in calling for Piece County Sheriff Ed Troyer's resignation.
The calls come after explosive audio surfaced of the Sheriff telling a 911 dispatcher on Jan. 27 that Sedrick Altheimer, a Black newspaper carrier, had threatened to kill him, which he later contradicted when talking to police that arrived on the scene.
Community leaders say this is just the latest in a pattern of misconduct from Troyer, and that it can no longer be accepted because lives are on the line.
“This was a young African American man who was a father, a husband, whose life was at risk unjustly, and that’s a pure fact,” said Bishop Lawrence White of the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance. “His life was at risk simply because of the color of his skin. And that’s not acceptable.”
Troyer released a statement through the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department last Friday that his actions were in line with “transparency, accountability, and free of racial bias” and invited anyone with questions to look into this incident for themselves.
Now, the Pierce County Council is looking to take Troyer up on his offer.
On Tuesday, the council stated that they’ve begun the process of finding someone to conduct an independent investigation into the events of Jan. 27.
Meanwhile, community leaders said the sheriff must take accountability in order to move forward.
“First of all, own it," White said. “Because that’s where reconciliation always starts. Own the mistake, but if not that, and not including that, he needs to resign from his position because it now calls into question, once again, whether we have a leader who’s been put into position who has the ability to represent, unilaterally, the safety and the welfare of all people.”
White also stated that even though the alliance is glad the council has taken this step, there is still an undercurrent of skepticism and concern, given how independent investigations, such as the one surrounding the death of Manuel Ellis, have drawn criticism in the past.
In a statement under the sheriff's department, Troyer says he intends to cooperate fully with the independent investigation.