Opening statements in the trial of Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer in connection with his 2021 run-in with newsman Black were rescheduled after attorneys failed to complete jury selection on Monday.
Jury selection was first scheduled for two days last week before Thanksgiving, with opening statements scheduled for Monday. Instead jury selection was delayed until Monday after Troyer’s attorneys said he tested positive for the flu early last week.
Opening statements are scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. News Tribune and Pierce County live broadcast of the trial.
Prosecutors from the state Attorney General’s Office and Troyer’s defense attorney questioned more than a dozen potential jurors individually during several hours of proceedings Monday about their views of law enforcement in general and their opinions on Troyer’s high-profile case. Several jurors were also dismissed due to health difficulties and family conflicts, or because they failed to show up for court.
Many of the questions from attorneys concerned potential jurors’ use of the news On January 27, 2021, an incident in which Troyer called a law enforcement-only hotline to report that a suspicious motorist he was following in his Tacoma neighborhood had threatened to kill him.
The dispatcher then put in a distress signal that dispatched more than 40 law enforcement officers to the region. Fourteen officers and deputies, including three sergeants and a lieutenant, responded after the first police to arrive said there was no threat. The motorist, Troyer, said he was a newspaperman who said he did not threaten the sheriff and claimed his actions were racially motivated.
On Tuesday morning, attorneys planned to question seven more potential jurors before questioning the panel of jurors.
