Pierce County sheriff’s major charged in DUI crash announces retirement
Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Chadwick Dickerson, who is charged with crashing his pickup into an SUV near Graham while allegedly intoxicated, has retired.
The Sheriff’s Office said Dickerson, 52, notified it of his retirement. His employment will end Friday, according to a news release from Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank.
Dickerson was charged this week for two counts of DUI vehicular assault after he allegedly crashed his pickup into an SUV occupied by three young children, their parents and a 57-year-old grandmother on July 12. An 8-year-old boy and the grandmother were injured.
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.
The Sheriff’s Office says that the announcement of Dickerson’s retirement does not change his scheduled Nov. 6 arraignment on the charges.
“The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office will continue our investigation into employee conduct related to body-camera usage and the handling of the collision. The investigation will specifically examine compliance with departmental policies during the incident,” the release said.
Charging documents filed against Dickerson allege that a sergeant and deputies who went to the crash scene did not activate their body-worn cameras the entire time. Swank told reporters in a news conference Thursday that all Sheriff’s Office personnel who arrived at the scene should have had their cameras activated.
Dickerson worked for the Sheriff’s Office for nearly 25 years and most recently headed up the Criminal Investigation Division. He previously worked as a patrol deputy and a school-resource officer before he was assigned to be a narcotics investigator. He was promoted in 2011 to detective and later detective sergeant, according to his bio on the Sheriff’s Office website. As a detective sergeant, Dickerson supervised the Special Assault Unit and was the forensics services manager.
Swank appointed Dickerson to his role as major in January, where he led the Internet Crimes Against Children unit, which was restarted this year after previously being shut down due to low staffing, The News Tribune reported.
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM.
