Sheriff Swank downplays own DUI arrest as top commander faces vehicular assault charge

On the day Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Major, Chad Dickerson, was set to be arraigned following his Saturday arrest on suspicion of vehicular assault and DUI near Graham, KIRO 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 — more than twice the legal limit in Washington.

KIRO 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’s 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 — 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.

https://mynorthwest.com/local/sheriff-swank-dui-arrest-assault/4110584