Major in Pierce County Sheriff’s Office charged with DUI vehicular assault

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Chadwick Dickerson was charged Wednesday with two counts of DUI vehicular assault for crashing his pickup into an SUV near Graham. The SUV was occupied by three young children, their parents and grandmother.

Charging documents filed in Pierce County Superior Court allege the collision injured an 8-year-old boy and the grandmother. All six passengers in the SUV were taken by ambulance to local hospitals.

Toxicology results allegedly showed that Dickerson’s blood-alcohol content was 0.091 when his blood was drawn at a hospital more than three hours after the wreck. The legal limit in Washington is .08.

Dickerson was placed under arrest at the hospital, and he allegedly told a Washington State Patrol trooper that he’d had two vodka sodas while golfing.

A friend who was at the golf outing later said Dickerson had two more canned alcoholic seltzer drinks and at least one more alcoholic seltzer at his residence afterward.

Dickerson, 52, will be summoned for a Nov. 6 arraignment hearing to enter a plea to the felony charges, a spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said. He was booked into jail the day after the July 12 incident and spent the night before being released while the Washington State Patrol continued to investigate.

The high-ranking leader was appointed by Sheriff Keith Swank to head up the Criminal Investigation Division after nearly 25 years with the Sheriff’s Office. Dickerson has since been on paid administrative leave.

The Sheriff’s Office issued a statement about the criminal charges Wednesday afternoon.

“The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office supports the decision and due process for Major Chad Dickerson,” the statement reads. “Moving forward, we understand there will be many questions related to these charges. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office will conduct an administrative investigation in accordance with our policies, and Sheriff Keith Swank will inform the community of his decisions and any discipline regarding Dickerson’s status once the review is complete.”

The News Tribune’s efforts to reach Dickerson by phone were not immediately successful Wednesday afternoon.

The collision occurred at about 3:45 p.m. at an uncontrolled intersection at 132nd Avenue East and 288th Street East, according to the probable cause document. It alleges Dickerson was the sole occupant of a Ram pickup when he failed to yield and struck a Ford Expedition, causing it to roll. Dickerson’s pickup was disabled and came to a rest in a ditch just west of the intersection.

Body-cameras turned off or not activated

Court documents also detail the actions Sheriff’s Office employees took after learning Dickerson had been involved in the collision. Phone records allegedly showed that Dickerson made phone calls before deputies arrived shortly after 4 p.m., calling his bureau chief, Rusty Wilder, who then texted Maj. Jake Greger that Dickerson had been “involved in a non-injury accident.”

Phone records indicate that Greger called Dickerson and spoke with him for a minute and a half, according to the probable cause document.

One sergeant who responded to the scene allegedly turned off his body-worn camera manually after telling a deputy he was going to talk to Dickerson. The camera remained off for 14 minutes, during which time, records state, he spoke to Dickerson and had several phone conversations.

That included a call to a traffic investigator with the Sheriff’s Office. According to the probable cause document, the two discussed whether Dickerson showed signs of impairment, and the sergeant said he didn’t want himself or his deputies making that determination. The traffic investigator mentioned a portable breath test and that the State Patrol could respond to evaluate Dickerson.

The sergeant also contacted Greger to ask whether the State Patrol should be called. Records state Greger determined the Sheriff’s Office would keep the investigation.

Other Sheriff’s Office personnel also did not have their body-cameras activated at times. The probable cause document states one deputy inadvertently activated his for 41 seconds. Records noted that another deputy did not initially activate her body camera. She turned hers on after the sergeant went to talk to Dickerson, but she did not accompany the sergeant to speak with him.

Collision scene cleared and Dickerson leaves before trooper arrives

It was about 4:25 p.m. when Dickerson approached a deputy and asked about picking up his golf clubs, records state. Dickerson’s wife and adult daughter had been on the scene since before deputies arrived, and they started removing items from the Ram pickup and picked up debris when a deputy said she didn’t see why not.

The daughter later said she did not remove any alcohol from the vehicle, according to the probable cause document.

Although Greger reportedly determined the investigation would stay with the Sheriff’s Office, records state that deputies in the traffic unit spoke and agreed that one of them would go to the scene, and that if there was any sign of impairment, the State Patrol should respond.

The traffic deputy arrived at 4:32 p.m., activated his body-worn camera and kept it activated while at the scene. The deputy asked the sergeant about any impairment, to which he responded, “I don’t have anything going on that. I’m not a subject matter expert.”

Greger was then contacted by the traffic deputy, who informed Greger that he didn’t see signs of impairment, but that the State Patrol should investigate the situation so that if someone needed to take enforcement action, it would be the State Patrol rather than the Sheriff’s Office.

Dickerson was notified that the State Patrol was on the way at 4:50 p.m., and he stayed at the scene for about 15 minutes before leaving with his wife and daughter in his wife’s vehicle. The sergeant documented in a report that he “thought it was best” that Dickerson leave because he was hurting.

A State Patrol trooper arrived at 5:15 p.m., and records state she was surprised that Dickerson had left the scene and that all of the debris from the collision had been cleared and cleaned up.

Dickerson placed under arrest at MultiCare facility

Dickerson is first seen answering questions about whether he’d been drinking on body-camera footage at about 5:45 p.m. when a State Patrol trooper spoke to him at a MultiCare facility. After answering questions, records state Dickerson asked: “Are you going to read me my rights because you’re asking me incriminating questions?”

The trooper reportedly told Dickerson he was doing his job. According to the probable cause document, Dickerson said: “I don’t feel like I was impaired.” He declined to do field sobriety tests.

When the trooper told Dickerson he was under arrest for DUI, Dickerson allegedly replied: “What are you, what’s your probable cause?” The trooper said he could smell alcohol on him and that Dickerson had bloodshot eyes. Dickerson remained in the facility for tests and treatment. He’d suffered fractured ribs and bruising.

This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 4:46 PM.