Leader in Pierce County Sheriff’s Office taken to jail after suspected DUI crash
A high-ranking leader in the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office was booked into jail Sunday after allegedly causing a two-car wreck southeast of Graham. State Troopers suspect he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Major Chadwick Dickerson, 52, was booked into Pierce County Jail just before 7 p.m. on suspicion of vehicular assault, a felony, jail records show. A spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Adam Faber, said there would be a court hearing Monday afternoon where prosecutors would ask for more time to get information from investigators before deciding whether to charge Dickerson with a crime.
Deputy Carly Cappetto, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, said Monday that the Washington State Patrol was handling the investigation. In a statement released Monday morning, the office said Dickerson was off-duty when the collision occurred, and he has since been placed on administrative leave.
“Our office is working through this, you know, this disturbing incident, and we’re going to get through it,” Cappetto said.
Dickerson and a 57-year-old woman were transported to Tacoma General Hospital following the crash on 132nd Avenue East, according to the State Patrol. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred at about 3:45 p.m.
“This is a deeply concerning matter, and our thoughts are with everyone impacted,” the Sheriff’s Office’s statement reads. “The other vehicle that was hit contained a family with children inside the vehicle. Our hearts are with the victims and the family during this incredibly painful and uncertain time. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and all those harmed in the incident.”
Dickerson heads up the Criminal Investigation Division for the Sheriff’s Office and has worked for the law enforcement agency for nearly 25 years. According to his bio on the office’s website, he worked as a patrol deputy and a school-resource officer for 11 years before being assigned to the Criminal Investigations Bureau as a narcotics investigator. He was promoted to detective in 2014 and later detective sergeant.
Dickerson also served as a medic in the U.S. Army and the Washington Army National Guard for a decade. Sheriff Keith Swank appointed him to his current role on command staff in January. Swank told news reporters Monday that Dickerson leads the Internet Crimes Against Children unit, which Swank restarted this year after it was shut down for several years due to low staffing.
“He’s a very skilled detective, that’s why I put him in those positions,” Swank said.
“I’m just very disappointed and sad about this happening and about people in our community being injured, and it really breaks my heart about it,” he added.
Dickerson appeared for court Monday afternoon via remote video from the jail, which showed him being brought into a small room in a wheelchair while wearing a gray jail uniform. After defense attorney Jared Ausserer objected to news media recording images of Dickerson’s face, Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille ordered that photographs or videos only be taken from the neck down.
“These are just allegations,” Ausserer said. He is an attorney with Puget Law Group, which has five offices in Washington, including in Tacoma and Seattle.
McInvaille ruled that Dickerson be released on his personal recognizance pending a July 16 arraignment hearing. Prosecutors agreed with her ruling and asked that he not be allowed to consume alcohol or drugs and that he not be allowed contact with any law enforcement officers who were at the scene of the collision.
Troopers said Dickerson was driving north in a 2015 Ram 2500 pickup approaching 288th Street East, north of the Kapowsin Highway. An SUV carrying six people was going west on 288th Street approaching 132nd Avenue when Dickerson failed to yield, according to the State Patrol, and the SUV crashed into him.
The SUV rolled onto its side, and Dickerson’s pickup came to a stop in a ditch. The SUV carried three children ages 3, 4 and 8 and three adults.
Cappetto said Sheriff’s Office deputies were first on scene and, when they recognized it involved Dickerson, they immediately asked the State Patrol to take over the investigation.
Cappetto said the State Patrol was asked to take over so it was a “fully transparent and unbiased investigation.”
After court adjourned, Swank spoke with news news reporters outside the County-City Building. He said he heard about what happened Sunday and was really concerned about the victims in the SUV and any injuries Dickerson suffered.
“I think it’s very tragic. I think that people should not drink and drive, if that is the case, but I’m also for due process,” Swank said. “It’s an allegation of drinking and driving resulting in vehicular assault, and if that ends up being the case, then the trial will move forward or the case will move forward but in the meantime like anyone else they’re innocent until proven guilty.”
Swank said he hoped results from the State Patrol’s crime lab, such as from toxicology testing, would be expedited because he wants answers as fast as possible.
This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 9:58 AM.
