Pierce County, WA Major charged with DUI, vehicular assault announces retirement

Pierce Co. major charged in DUI crash announced retirement

Major Chad Dickerson has retired from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office after being charged with two counts of vehicular assault-DUI.

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - A Pierce County Sheriff's Office major charged with two counts of vehicular assault-DUI has announced his retirement, effective immediately.

Major Chad Dickerson is accused of driving under the influence and causing a serious crash in Graham that injured multiple members of a family on July 12. Dickerson was officially charged in the crash on Wednesday.

Now, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said it was recently notified Dickerson's retirement, and will be separating employment with the major on Friday, Oct. 24.

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank has since launched an internal investigation into deputies who responded to the crash, specifically regarding their body camera usage and handling of the initial investigation.

Sheriff Swank launches probe after Pierce County Major charged with DUI

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank announced an internal investigation into deputies who responded to an off-duty crash involving Major Chad Dickerson, who is charged with vehicular assault and DUI after a July collision.

The backstory:

Dickerson, who was driving a Ram pickup truck while off-duty, allegedly failed to yield at an uncontrolled intersection at 132nd Avenue East and 288th Street East, colliding with a Ford Expedition that had the right-of-way.

The Expedition had a family inside, including three children—ages 8, 4 and 3—their parents, and their grandmother, who suffered a fractured vertebra and multiple broken ribs. Neighbors responded after hearing the crash and pulled family members from the SUV.

According to court documents, investigators noted Dickerson had an odor of alcohol and watery, bloodshot eyes. A blood draw nearly four hours after the crash returned a BAC of 0.091.

Before Washington State Patrol took over the investigation, responding deputies from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office allegedly turned off their body cameras and cleared the scene of debris before troopers arrived.

Dickerson is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 6 for the vehicular assault case.

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