Tacoma police detective testifies in Sheriff Ed Troyer’s trial

TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma police Detective Chad Lawless delivered potentially damaging testimony Wednesday against Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer.

The sheriff is on trial, accused of making a false report to police that a Black newspaper carrier had threatened to kill him.

Lawless says he was one of the first officers on the scene, and one of the first to speak with Troyer following his controversial call on Jan. 27, 2021.

“I asked him, ‘did he make any threats towards you?’” said Lawless. “He said no.”

This directly contradicts the South Sound 911 recording from just before 2 a.m. that morning, in which Troyer is heard saying: “Hey it’s Troyer. Tacoma and North End about two blocks from my house and I caught someone in my driveway who’s just threatened to kill me.”

Troyer did not call 911 directly, but used a back channel to speak with a South Sound 911 operator. His concerns were passed on to another dispatcher at South Sound 911, who alerted more than 40 law enforcement officers at more than a dozen different agencies that the sheriff was in trouble.

Within minutes of arriving on the scene, Lawless says he realized this response was an overreaction and made the call to de-escalate.

“My exact words were, we don’t need the whole world here,” said Lawless. “I thought this was a little ridiculous that the sheriff would call and say this.”

Lawless also says he filed the initial police report.

The defense poked holes in his work, pointing out perspectives he may have omitted.

Troyer’s attorney also shared receipts from group text messages that Lawless was in with other Tacoma Police Department officers. In those messages, Lawless and others badmouthed Troyer.

Lawless was on the stand for hours, but he was not the only witness to speak Wednesday. The jury briefly heard from a neighbor of Troyer’s, as well as his wife.

Troyer’s wife is expected to return to provide additional testimony Thursday morning.

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