By admin 
A 47-year-old who died during a confrontation with police Wednesday in Washington state was at the center of a federal child pornography investigation.
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Christopher H. Derrick, of Pasco, in Eastern Washington, lived in the neighborhood north of where a confrontation with a detective ended with Derrick being shot and killed.
Derrick worked at the Hanford nuclear site, according to records.
He was indicted Oct. 7 on charges of receipt and possession of child pornography. The indictment was unsealed and made public Wednesday.
The Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children taskforce was serving warrants tied to the investigation into child sexual abuse material shortly before 6 a.m. in the neighborhood near Argent Road and Road 103, when a Richland officer stopped Christopher H. Derrick, according to a news release.
A federal warrant had been issued in Eastern Washington U.S. District Court about two weeks ago for Derrick’s arrest.
The taskforce, based out of the Richland Police Department, draws federal, state and local officers together. Dispatch reports said they were checking Derrick’s license plate minutes before the shooting.
It’s unclear exactly what happened in Pasco Wednesday morning, but dispatch reports show that the stop turned violent at 5:52 a.m.
“Driver pulled a gun. We believe he shot himself and then shots were fired by officers,” a Richland officer said on the radio. “We are OK. We need to stage medics.”
Emergency medical personnel tried to save his life, and he was taken Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland where he died.
The police officer who fired the shots has been placed on paid administrative leave. The officer has not been named.
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The indictment accused Derrick of knowingly possessing sexual photos or videos between Nov. 12, 2025, and Aug. 19, 2026, of one or more children under the age of 12.
What we know about Christopher Derrick
According to property records, Derrick lived in a three-bedroom home north of where he was shot. He appears to have inherited the home and owned it with his wife.
Derrick worked for the Department of Energy contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions at Hanford, according to documents as recent as 2025.
A 2025 Hanford Mission Integration Solutions newsletter said Derrick was a security specialist and the administrator of a building used by the Hanford Patrol.
The Hanford Patrol provides security for the Hanford nuclear site adjacent to Richland in Eastern Washington. Environmental cleanup is being done now at the site used to produce nearly two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program from World War II through the Cold War.
“The Hanford Field Office is aware of the situation and is working with local law enforcement to provide any support necessary,” the DOE office at Hanford said in a statement.
“Given the nature of this situation, any additional information will come from the investigating agency,” it said.
Reporter Annette Cary contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 4:35 AM with the headline “Man indicted on child porn charges dies in Washington police shooting.”
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