成人X站

On the day Pierce County Sheriff鈥檚 Office Major, Chad Dickerson, was set to be arraigned following his Saturday arrest on suspicion of vehicular assault and DUI near Graham, 成人X站 Newsradio uncovered court records that showed Pierce County Sheriff, Keith Swank, who hired Dickerson to be a part of command staff as head of criminal investigations, was also arrested for DUI 18 years ago while he was employed as a sergeant with the Seattle Police Department (SPD).

Pacific County Court records showed Swank was arrested by a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper on February 23, 2007 for DUI and was arraigned four days later. According to court documents, his blood alcohol level registered .21聽 鈥� more than twice the legal limit in Washington.

成人X站 Newsradio asked Sheriff Swank several questions, from his comments on his 2007 arrest to how his own arrest has influenced his policies concerning employee DUIs as an elected sheriff. Swank emailed his reply through a Pierce County Sheriff鈥檚 Office spokesperson, stating, “This is a recycled, 18-year-old story about a charge that was rightly downgraded because I was simply asleep in a parked, privately owned car 鈥� not driving or endangering anyone.”

In April 2007, with an attorney by his side, court records said Swank entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors, agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for the lesser charge of first-degree negligent driving. Swank was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail, with all 90 days suspended, and two years’ probation, which court records show ended April 24, 2009.

Monday, Swank commented on Dickerson鈥檚 arrest and crash, saying, “If there was a law violation here, then Major Dickerson will be held to the highest standard here at the agency and also within the court system itself. I want everyone to know that I am deeply saddened and sorry about what happened. The victims are in our thoughts and prayers. Please allow the legal process to proceed. It will take some time.”

Pierce County Sheriff鈥檚 Office Major’s DUI arrest

According to WSP, Dickerson failed to yield the right of way at the intersection of 132nd Avenue E. and 288th Street E. in Graham and collided with an SUV. The six occupants in the Ford Expedition SUV included a 27-year-old woman who was driving and is seven months pregnant, her 30-year-old husband, her three children, ages 8, 4, and 3, and her 57-year-old mother, who suffered several broken bones, according to WSP.

New information about Dickerson following the crash, according to Pierce County court documents, showed discrepancies between law enforcement over whether Dickerson exhibited any signs of alcohol use, and whether he left the scene of the accident after being told to remain until investigators arrived.

Pierce County prosecutors said a deputy at the scene, who was described as a technical collision investigator, instructed Dickerson to remain at the scene until WSP Trooper Shannon McKenzie arrived to investigate. However, Dickerson left the scene after his wife picked him up.

“The deputies informed Trooper McKenzie that Dickerson had been picked up by his wife and transported to MultiCare Emergency at 132nd Street and SR 161,” Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Loren Halstrom said in a probable cause declaration.

In an email to 成人X站 Newsradio on Wednesday, Deputy Carly Cappetto, spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, explained that reports filed by deputies at the accident scene said Dickerson was advised to remain on scene by a Pierce County “traffic tech,” but was later allowed to leave.

According to Cappetto, the “traffic tech” informed a Pierce County sergeant that a WSP investigator “had extended an estimated arrival time,” but said Dickerson was to remain at the scene until WSP arrived. As time passed, Cappetto said the sergeant, then in charge of the scene, reported Dickerson was “wincing,” “grabbing at his right side,” and “his condition seemed to be getting worse.”

Dickerson declined the firefighters’ offer to transport him to a hospital, according to Cappetto, as his wife took him to an Urgent Care facility instead.

“Dickerson鈥檚 family arrived on scene and eventually convinced him to seek medical attention,” Cappetto said. “The sergeant told Dickerson he could leave since he noticed Dickerson鈥檚 condition appeared to be getting worse. Dickerson鈥檚 wife transported him to seek medical attention, and the sergeant remained on scene to advise WSP when they arrived where they could contact Dickerson.”

The court documents also said that when McKenzie asked if Dickerson showed any signs of impairment before leaving the scene, deputies said no.

“When asked about signs of impairment, deputies on scene informed Trooper McKenzie that they did not observe any and stated there were no odors of intoxicants,” Halstrom stated. “When asked if Dickerson was speaking normally, they advised there was no slurring in his speech.”

Later, at the Urgent Care, WSP said they found several indicators of impairment and arrested Dickerson on suspicion of DUI.

“While speaking with Dickerson about the collision, troopers noted several indicators of impairment, including bloodshot watery eyes, and a strong odor of intoxicants on his breath,” a WSP press release stated.

The Pierce County Sheriff鈥檚 Office (PCSO) said they requested WSP to take over the crash investigation, based on the severity of the collision and Dickerson鈥檚 position with PCSO.

成人X站 Newsradio asked Swank what he thinks about his DUI arrest, and if the recent arrest of Dickerson says anything about the culture within his command staff. Swank did not respond to those specific questions and instead just reacted to questions concerning his own arrest. Swank hired Dickerson, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement, to oversee and lead the county’s criminal division.

成人X站 Newsradio also asked SPD about their knowledge and any actions taken in connection with Swank鈥檚 2007 arrest. SPD didn鈥檛 answer at the time of publishing this article.

As an SPD Officer, Swank earned commendations for his work from some supervisors. According to his bio on the PCSO’s website, he commanded the SPD SWAT team, “responsible for clearing and securing the CHOP/CHAZ zone during the 2020 Seattle riots, one of many operations that highlighted his decisive leadership in high-pressure, life-or-death situations.” In 2006, the year before his DUI arrest, Swank鈥檚 bio page said he played a pivotal role in de-escalating a hostage situation involving a mass shooter at the Seattle Jewish Federation.

Swank also faced controversy throughout his 30-year career with SPD, including an internal complaint about social media posts sent by him that pushed conspiracy theories about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In one post, Swank said the attack was planned by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and called Pelosi a criminal who needed to be held accountable.

In 2011, SPD suspended Swank without pay for his role during an incident involving an officer, under Swank鈥檚 command, who threatened to beat the 鈥�(expletive) Mexican piss鈥� out of a Hispanic man detained on suspicion of robbery. That man was later released because he was not involved in the robbery. He eventually settled a civil lawsuit filed against the city in which he claimed officers had kicked him. Swank was pointed out for an alleged 鈥済laring鈥� lack of supervision.

In a disciplinary report, signed by former interim SPD Chief Sue Rahr, Swank was accused of making “disrespectful” and “biased, inflammatory” social media posts in 2023 while working as a police captain. The report claimed Swank made anti-transgender comments on social media and claimed Democrats deeply enjoyed chopping up babies, in reference to abortion rights. Rahr also noted Swank used the word 鈥渢hug鈥� referring to a black teenager and called the comment, 鈥渁 racially charged slur [that] could reasonably be construed to be a prejudice and/or derogatory comment based on race.”

Soon after the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) started an investigation into Swank鈥檚 posts, he retired from SPD in 2023. He was elected as Pierce County sheriff in November 2024.

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