
A Washington state sheriff is facing criminal charges after incident with Black newspaper delivery driver
CNN
A Washington state sheriff who allegedly tailed a Black man delivering newspapers falsely accused the man of threatening his life, summoning dozens of officers to the scene to apprehend him, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer was charged with one count of false reporting and one count of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant in connection with the incident, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office said in a Tuesday news release. Ferguson filed the charges in Pierce County District Court.
After the charges were filed, Troyer told CNN in a statement the attorney general told the media about the charges before he informed Troyer or Troyer's attorney and "the night of the incident, I was doing what I have done for decades—investigate the possibility of criminal activity after neighbors and I had repeatedly become victims of property crime." He added he believes the charges are politically motivated.