On the evening of December 15, 2011, Attorney Ford and his wife arrived at the Redwood City, California Caltrain station to take a train to their home in San Francisco. Ford had a pass and boarded the train while his wife bought a ticket from the ticket processor on the train deck. As the doors of the train began to close, Ford intervened and held the doors open so his wife could board the train.

After boarding, a Caltrain conductor approached Ford and told him he needed to leave the train because he had created an “unsafe environment” by holding the doors open for his wife. When Ford refused to leave the train, law enforcement officers from San Mateo County and Redwood City were dispatched to the train. The officers asked Ford and his wife to leave the train. Ford refused to exit and insisted that he had done nothing wrong, at which point the officers took steps to arrest and forcibly remove Ford from the train. Ford actively resisted removal from the train, and responded to an officer’s commands by telling the officer, “Fuck you, get off me!” Ford also called the officer a “douchebag.”

After removal from the train, Ford continued to resist. He ignored law enforcement commands that he sit down on a bench. He continued to yell and scream that law enforcement had no authority over him. At one point, according to police reports, Ford bit a deputy on the inside of his forearm, and in response to the bite the deputy punched Ford in the face three times, breaking Ford’s nose. Police reports further state that when the deputy tried to assist another officer, who according to police reports was being kicked by Ford’s wife, Ford reached for the deputy’s Taser and baton. Ultimately, another deputy used pepper spray to subdue Ford, who continued to struggle, scream and yell. At this point, the officers requested back-up, and additional law enforcement officers arrived to assist in subduing Ford. Ford was restrained on a gurney and transported to San Mateo County General Hospital for treatment. During this time, Ford commanded his wife to call 911 to have someone other than “these dickhead cops” come help him. According to incident reports, Ford was intoxicated and had marijuana in his possession. The Caltrain train was delayed 27 minutes at the station due to the incident.

On January 6, 2012, the District Attorney for San Mateo County, California, charged Ford with multiple misdemeanor counts, including resisting arrest and battery on an officer. See People of California v. Jeremy Ford, Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, Case No. SM379337B.