PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Six candidates have filed to run for Pierce County Sheriff after current Sheriff Ed Troyer indicated he would not run for re-election.
Troyer was elected sheriff in 2020 and has been with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) since 1985.
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.
Candidates who have filed to replace Troyer include four current and former PCSD employees, a federal police sergeant and a captain for the Seattle Police Department.
Candidates are listed in the order they appear on the VoteWA website.
Darin G. Harris started his career in public service working for the Flat Rock Fire Department in 1991, where he became an EMT in 1995. He graduated from the police academy in 1997 and worked with Flat Rock Fire and Detroit Police Department simultaneously for multiple years.
Harris enlisted in the army in 2003 and served on multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged in 2014 after receiving several awards for his service.
After a year-long internship with the Seattle division of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Harris was hired as a federal police officer working for the Department of Defense, where he was promoted to sergeant in 2017 and continues to serve.
Craig Gocha has been a member of the Army National Guard for nearly 20 years and has worked for the Yakima and Puyallup police departments before being hired by the PCSD, where he served for 11 years.
At PCSD, Gocha served as a SWAT officer, public safety rescue diver, field training officer and an officer on the U.S. Marshal's Violent Offender Task Force.
Gocha took a step back from law enforcement to be more present with his family in 2021. In the intervening years, he worked with the private sector establishing a counterfeit crimes unit at Amazon and also with Expedia Group helping to streamline operations.
Keith Swank enlisted in the army at 18, then attended the University of Washington before graduating from the police academy. Swank spent 15 years as a patrol officer in Seattle before being promoted to sergeant.
He oversaw 911 emergency response for four years, where he rose to second-in-command. He then returned to patrol and was promoted to Lieutenant, and spent two tours as a watch commander. In 2017 he was promoted to captain and worked as the night duty commander.
He also served as the commander of the Metro Special Response Section, which includes the SWAT Team, Harbor Patrol, the Canine Unit and the Arson Bomb Squad. During his time with SPD, he was the SWAT team commander who directed the clearance and securing of the CHOP/CHAZ zone in Capitol Hill.
Cyndie Fajardo has worked for the PCSD for nearly four decades. As a deputy sheriff, she worked on patrol, with the DUI team, narcotics and financial investigation teams.
She was promoted to sergeant, and then lieutenant with the department, a role in which she currently serves. She helps to oversee community relations, the Neighborhood Patrol Program, the Community Support Team, school resource officers, the Crime Analysis Unit, Alarm Ordinance, Animal Control, the Special Investigations Unit, Search and Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue and the Sheriff's Mounted Posse.
Fajardo listed experience as the Lieutenant/Commander for the Parkland/Spanaway precinct, Mountain Detachment and the Foothills Detachment.
Patti Jackson currently serves as the Patrol Bureau Chief with the PCSD.
She has worked with PCSD since 1989, primarily in the Corrections Bureau. She also participates in mental health communities and holds a position on the City-County Opioid Task Force. In 2016, she implemented the state's first Jail Narcotic K9 program.
Beyond her work with the Corrections Bureau, Jackson has collaborated with local agencies and service clubs on projects tackling homelessness, drug addiction and mental health, including partnering with local nonprofits to establish a rehabilitation program that works to address the root causes of addiction.
Mike Csapo is listed as a deputy sheriff for the PCSD. At this time, he does not have a candidate website.