Ex-Pierce County sheriff’s major appears in court on vehicular assault charges
A former major for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office appeared for an arraignment Monday morning on charges that he allegedly caused a two-car wreck in Graham that left members of a family of six injured over the summer.
Prosecutors charged Dickerson, 52, on Oct. 22 with two counts of DUI vehicular assault for the July 12 crash. He initially was released on his personal recognizance by a Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner on July 14 after his arrest.
Dickerson wore a blue blazer while standing next to his attorney Monday and looked to the front of a Pierce County Superior courtroom where the judge sat while both the state and defense made their arguments for conditions of release.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Dickerson’s behalf during the hearing.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Loren Halstrom said the state did not object to Dickerson being released on his personal recognizance. Prosecutors did request the court to order Dickerson be placed on home detention and to have an alcohol-monitoring device.
Halstrom also requested that Dickerson have no contact with the victims of the crash and witnesses, including members of the Sheriff’s Office who were on the scene.
The victims and their family were present for the hearing but did not wish to address the court, Halstrom said.
Dawn Farina, a defense attorney at Puget Law Group, did not object to many of the conditions that the state requested, including random alcohol tests and an ignition interlock. Farina did argue against Dickerson being placed on an electronic home-monitoring device.
Farina said Dickerson has taken the case “very seriously” by completing an alcohol evaluation that determined he had no significant problem with alcohol and by attending a DUI victim-impact panel.
“He’s a long-standing member of our Pierce County community, many of whom are present in the courtroom this morning,” Farina said, noting Dickerson’s nearly 25 years with the Sheriff’s Office.
Dickerson announced his retirement from the Sheriff’s Office Oct. 24, two days after he was charged in the crash.
Judge Alicia Burton ordered Dickerson be released on his personal recognizance. Dickerson was not placed on an electronic home-monitoring device but was ordered not to have contact with victims or witnesses listed by prosecutors.
After the hearing, many supporting Dickerson greeted him as he walked through the hall with his attorney. Dickerson did not wish to provide a comment when asked by the media.
Those involved in the July 12 crash included three young children, ages 3, 4 and 6, their parents and a 57-year-old grandmother. Charging documents allege the 8-year-old boy and his grandmother were injured. All six passengers in the SUV were taken by ambulance to local hospitals.
Before the crash, Dickerson headed up the Criminal Investigation Division after being appointed by Sheriff Keith Swank.
Background of the July 12 crash
The crash happened at about 3:45 p.m. at an intersection on 132nd Avenue East and 288th Street East. Prosecutors allege Dickerson was driving a Ram truck when he failed to yield and struck a Ford Expedition. The vehicle carrying the family rolled on its side, and Dickerson’s pickup came to a rest in a ditch, according to charging documents.
Before deputies arrived shortly after 4 p.m., phone records show Dickerson was in contact with a Sheriff’s Office bureau chief and command duty officer. Court documents allege that a sergeant and deputies who went to the crash did not activate their body-worn cameras for the entirety of their interactions with Dickerson.
Documents show Dickerson later told a Washington State Patrol trooper he allegedly had two vodka sodas while golfing off-duty that day. 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.
A deputy at the scene watched Dickerson walk over and noted he had no difficulties walking. The deputy also said they could not smell of intoxicants coming off Dickerson and his speech did not appear to be impaired. The deputy noted a “heavy smell of cologne” from Dickerson, according to a supplemental report from the Sheriff’s Office obtained by The News Tribune.
There was a back and forth on whether Washington State Patrol should be called to investigate the crash. An initial decision was made that the Sheriff’s Office would keep the investigation. It was decided soon after that WSP should be the investigating agency so that if enforcement action needed to happen, it would not be the Sheriff’s Office doing it, according to charging documents.
Before State Patrol arrived, Dickerson left the scene in his wife’s vehicle. His wife and adult daughter went to the scene and allegedly removed items from the Ram pickup and picked up debris when a deputy said she didn’t see why not. Court documents show that a trooper who arrived at 5:15 p.m. was surprised that Dickerson had left and all the debris from the crash was cleared.
Dickerson was taken to a MultiCare facility where he was eventually arrested.
He was first seen on body-camera footage answering questions when a State Patrol trooper spoke to him. Dickerson declined to do field-sobriety tests after saying he did not feel like he was impaired. The trooper said he could smell alcohol coming from Dickerson and that he had bloodshot eyes.
Documents show Dickerson remained in the facility for tests and treatment after he suffered fractured ribs and bruising.
Dickerson spent one night in the Pierce County Jail before being released while WSP continued to investigate.
After Dickerson was charged, Sheriff Keith Swank held a news conference where he said that Sheriff’s Office personnel at the scene should have had their body-worn cameras activated. An Internal Affairs investigation was opened to look into the conduct of law enforcement on scene.
Dickerson’s next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 11:20 AM.
