A Little Rock police lieutenant who has been on administrative leave since his December arrest on a DWI charge was found guilty Thursday of that charge and one other, court records show.
Lt. Michael Ford pleaded guilty Thursday morning to the charge of refusing to submit to a chemical test, and pleaded no contest -- not entering a guilty or not guilty plea -- to the charge of driving while intoxicated.
A third charge, careless and prohibited driving, was not pursued by prosecutors.
A message left with Ford's listed attorney, Lloyd "Tre" Kitchens of Brad Hendricks Law Firm, seeking comment was not answered Thursday afternoon.
The department's internal investigation into Ford's actions has been ongoing since shortly after the arrest, when Ford was placed on administrative leave, police spokesman Sgt. Eric Barnes said Thursday. Because the investigation is ongoing, he could not provide any information about it.
Arkansas State Police arrested Ford just before 3 a.m. Dec. 3 after he crashed his vehicle into a cable barrier on Interstate 430 near the Rodney Parham Road interchange.
In vehicle camera footage later released by Arkansas State Police, Ford appears to be disoriented and sluggish in the back seat of a patrol vehicle and has difficulty maintaining a conversation with the trooper arresting him. Ford refused to take a Breathalyzer test.
The trooper drove Ford to the State Police Headquarters and booked him on the three charges. From there, he was released to a friend or family member to be taken home, and he was never booked at the Pulaski County jail.
That process is typical for DWI arrests, Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said previously, adding that the arresting trooper did not know Ford was a police officer until he spoke with the person who picked him up.
Ford's court appearance was originally set for Jan. 18, but had been moved to Thursday morning.
Ford was part of a nine-member task force created by Chief Keith Humphrey in November to review and implement suggestions made in the audit of the police force. He was placed on leave before the task force began meeting and so has had no role in that process, police spokesman Mark Edwards said previously.
The internal investigation is not the first that Ford has been subject to in his time at the department.
Maumelle police officers got a report in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2020, that someone had fired 45 to 60 shots into the air from the backyard of Ford's home.
Patrol officers, who reported smelling burned gunpowder and seeing rifle shell casings, spoke with Ford, who refused to give his name and denied anyone had fired a gun at the house.
He did tell the officers he worked for the Little Rock Police Department, instructing them to "run his house."
Maumelle police did not arrest Ford but charged him with discharging a weapon in violation of a city ordinance and obstructing governmental operations.
After an internal investigation, Ford was suspended without pay for two days for violating department policy during the Maumelle incident, according to documents obtained and first reported by Little Rock blogger Russ Racop.