TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The sheriff of Pierce County sparked a large police response in late January after confronting a Black newspaper carrier driving near his home, telling a 911 dispatcher the man threatened to kill him.

Sheriff Ed Troyer retracted that allegation during questioning by Tacoma police.

The 24-year-old carrier said the early morning encounter on Jan. 27 left him afraid and angry at Troyer — who was driving an unmarked, personal SUV and didn’t identify himself as law enforcement.

Troyer, who is white, said he did not racially profile the man. He said he began following the carrier because he saw a driver he believed was behaving suspiciously in his neighborhood in Tacoma.