Man accused of grabbing Kennewick officer’s gun at City Hall. It’s not the 1st time

A 40-year-old man with a history of episodes of psychosis and mood disturbances is back in jail after trying to grab a Kennewick police commander’s gun during a struggle inside City Hall.

The last time he was accused of doing the same thing, the charges had to be dropped because of lengthy delays in getting his mental health evaluated.

This time Karl Sherman Dickenson is charged with threatening a Kennewick clerk with a metal pole on Dec. 15.

Dickenson was barred for a year starting last July 1 from entering City Hall because of previous confrontations, show court documents.

Police Commander Trevor White responded to the problem and found Dickenson swinging a long, metal bar, according to court documents.

When Dickenson spotted White, he tried to hit him with the weapon.

In the struggle, Dickenson tried to tug the gun free from White’s holster, but wasn’t able to before White managed to handcuff him.

Dickenson is being held in the Benton County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Previous charges

It’s a familiar story for the 40-year-old who has struggled with poor mental health for years, according to court documents. He was in jail 10 months earlier for similar struggles with officers in Kennewick and Pasco.

According to his defense attorneys at the time, it was unclear if or when he might be able to get treatment.

Documents show Dickenson has suffers from episodes of psychosis and mood disturbances that have led to run-ins with police.

While he’s been prescribed anti-psychotic medications, he has a history of not taking them, according to an October 2021 report from Eastern State Hospital officials.

He was facing charges in Benton and Franklin counties at the time of the evaluation.

The Benton County case stemmed from an October 2019 call to police by mental health professionals. According to court documents, Dickenson’s mental health issues could make him a danger to his son.

When officers tried to take him into custody for evaluation, he allegedly began struggling with them. He pulled away and tried to punch an officer. As they struggled to subdue him, he allegedly tried to grab an officer’s gun.

He was charged with third-degree assault in Benton County Superior Court in May 2021 in connection with the attack.

About 11 days after charges were filed there, Pasco police were called to Lourdes Medical Center because Dickenson was holding a butcher’s knife and a combat knife and threatening people.

A Pasco officer convinced him to put down the knives, and he was able to put him into handcuffs. He was admitted into the hospital for involuntary treatment.

He became more aggressive over time, and police were moving the cuffs to behind his back when he started struggling with them. While officers were able to get him under control, he left one officer with a scrape.

He was charged with third-degree assault in connection with the attacks.

Mental health evaluations

In both of his cases, he was ordered to be evaluated by Eastern State Hospital to determine if he was mentally healthy enough to help with his trial.

During a visit with hospital evaluators in the Franklin County jail, Dickenson said he was “governor of the prison system” and that he was “King of England” before ending the interview.

The evaluator believed he suffered from an unspecified schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorder, antisocial personality disorder and substance use disorder.

The report recommended he spend 45 days at the hospital so anti-psychotic medications could be administered.

Judges in both Benton and Franklin counties ordered him to spend 45 days in Eastern State Hospital to get his competency restored.

According to court documents, he was supposed to be getting treatment within 14 days, but he was still sitting in jail four months later.

In addition, Franklin County defense attorney Keith Hilde argued that it was uncertain when Eastern State Hospital might have an opening for him. This is because their waiting list wasn’t compiled based on the amount of time they were waiting, but on other criteria.

“The delay in admitting (Dickenson), an incompetent, incarcerated criminal defendant, to competency restoration violates his constitutional, substantive and fundamental due process rights under the 14th Amendment,” Hilde wrote.

He said the delay was preventing his client from pleading guilty like he wanted to.

Prosecutors in both Benton and Franklin counties agreed and dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning they could be filed again.

That was not the first time delays at Eastern State Hospital had attorneys calling for release of their clients.

Most prominently, attorneys for murder suspect Aaron Christopher Kelly asked for a court order after a 4-month delay in the evaluation.

Kelly is accused of opening fire inside the Richland Fred Meyer on Feb. 7, 2021, killing one man and wounding another.

The Department of Social and Health Services reported in November that they had conducted just 70 percent of competency evaluations on time in 2022, according to the Seattle Times.

This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 5:00 AM.