Biography
Black Unity leader and Lane Community College student arrested at a peaceful Black Lives Matter march through Springfield, Oregon's Thurston Hills neighborhood on July 29, 2020, organized in response to a noose displayed near a Black family's home. Punched in the head by a Springfield officer and arrested, his criminal case was later dismissed and he became a plaintiff in CLDC's civil-rights suit against the police.
The opinion identifies Ford’s July 29, 2020 charge as misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree. He pleaded no contest, successfully completed diversion, and the charge was dismissed. The court rejected an issue-preclusion defense and distinguished this dismissal from a final conviction. On January 23, 2026, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken denied the individual defendants’ and City of Springfield’s summary-judgment motions in Black Unity v. City of Springfield, 6:21-cv-00346-AA. The ruling allowed the surviving civil-rights claims to proceed; it was not a final liability verdict or damages award. Source: https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/oregon/ordce/6%3A2021cv00346/159131/162/0.pdf (PDF pages 18–21, 45, 120).
