Sheriff Pleads Not Guilty To Charges Over Confrontation

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) – A sheriff in Washington state has entered a not guilty plea in connection with charges stemming from a January confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier.

The News Tribune reports the plea was entered Thursday by Sheriff Ed Troyer’s attorney, John Sheeran. The Washington State Attorney General’s office earlier this month charged Troyer with one count of false reporting and one count of making a false statement to a civil servant for claiming the carrier, Sedrick Altheimer, threatened to kill him.

Troyer has denied any wrongdoing in the Jan. 27 incident, which started after the sheriff followed Altheimer as he delivered newspapers.

Troyer, who is white, has said he did not know Altheimer’s race when he began following him.

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