Shelby Commissioner Justin Ford charged with domestic violence

Shelby County Commissioner Justin Ford was released from jail Monday afternoon following his arrest earlier in the day after his girlfriend accused him of punching and choking her during an argument, reports the Commercial Appeal.

The 32-year-old faces charges of aggravated assault/domestic violence and false imprisonment.

It’s unclear how the arrest will impact Ford’s service on the Shelby County Commission. He’s one of 13 commissioners with power to approve budgets for county departments, including the jail where he was imprisoned for several hours Monday.

The events leading to his arrest began around 9 p.m. Sunday, when police responded to a domestic violence call at Church’s Chicken at 925 Poplar Avenue.

A woman, 43, told police that her boyfriend Ford, physically assaulted and choked her during an argument. The woman was interviewed by felony response investigators.

According to an arrest affidavit, Ford was a passenger in his girlfriend’s Mercedes when he became “belligerent” and allegedly struck her in the side of the head, temporarily blinding her.  The victim was able to pull into the parking lot of the Church’s Chicken where she tried to get out of the vehicle, the affidavit stated.

The victim and witnesses told police that Ford pulled her back into the vehicle and refused to let her out. Authorities say Ford then “punched the victim, pulled her hair and strangled her,” according to the affidavit. Witnesses told police the assault continued in the Mercedes until police arrived. Ford was arrested early the following morning, according to jail records.

… Ford comes from a prominent political family and was only 25 when elected to the board of commissioners in 2010, occupying a seat that had been filled by a family member almost continuously since 1994.