A former newspaper carrier who sued Pierce County and Sheriff Ed Troyer after the top law enforcement officer called the police on him while he was delivering papers will receive about $500,000 in a legal settlement.

Sedric Altheimer's lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleged that Troyer recklessly disregarded his civil rights and used "racial animus" when the sheriff repeatedly told a dispatcher that Altheimer had threatened to kill him the night of Jan. 27, 2021, initially triggering a massive law enforcement response. The lawsuit, filed in October 2021, came on the heels of a $5 million tort claim Altheimer filed against the county.

The county's offer to Altheimer was filed in court records Nov. 3. It resolves all disputed claims with no admission of guilt or liability from the defendants. Altheimer was offered $500,015 plus reasonable attorney's fees and unspecified costs as determined by the court.

The lawsuit came months before prosecutors from the Washington State Attorney General's office charged Troyer with two misdemeanors, false reporting and making a false or misleading statement to a public servant. Troyer was acquitted of those allegations in a jury trial last year.

Jurors found Troyer not guilty, but legal experts told The News Tribune after the trial that his lack of guilt would likely do little to help him in his civil case, where cases have a much lower burden of proof. In civil courts it's known as the preponderance of evidence standard, meaning a jury...

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