PIERCE COUNTY, Wash — A major with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office has retired after he was charged with vehicular assault following a DUI crash in July, the department announced Friday.
Major Chad Dickerson’s retirement is effective Oct. 24, according to Sheriff Keith Swank. Dickerson is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 6 on two counts of vehicular assault with a DUI enhancement.
Dickerson was charged in connection to a July 12 crash in Graham. Washington State Patrol said Dickerson failed to yield the right of way and was struck by another vehicle, which ended up on its passenger side in a ditch.
Three adults and three children were in the other vehicle, including a 57-year-old woman who suffered several broken bones. No other occupants were injured.
Dickerson initially declined medical treatment but was later taken to Tacoma General Hospital for several broken bones, according to WSP.
A state trooper who met with Dickerson at a MultiCare facility hours after the crash reported that Dickerson said he had consumed two vodka sodas while golfing and didn’t feel impaired. Dickerson refused field sobriety tests and was arrested for vehicular assault.
A blood draw taken more than 3.5 hours after the crash showed Dickerson’s blood-alcohol concentration at 0.091%, over Washington’s legal limit of 0.08%. It was later reported that Dickerson was seen consuming four drinks at the golf course and another afterward.
Charging documents revealed that several sheriff’s office personnel failed to activate their body cameras at the scene or turned them off during the investigation. A sergeant did not turn his body camera on until after speaking with Dickerson, and later turned it off for about 14 minutes before a second conversation with him.
Swank acknowledged the body camera failures, pointing to what he described as problematic language in the department’s policy, which states cameras “should be activated” in certain situations.
State troopers also noted that Dickerson had left the scene before they arrived and that crash debris had been cleared, hindering the investigation of crash dynamics.
The sheriff’s office said it will continue investigating employee conduct related to body camera usage and handling of the collision, with updates to be provided as available.
트위터 공유: 보안관 음주운전 사고로 은퇴 확정