After horrific accident, Gulfport police officer back at work

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Everybody loves a great comeback story.

A Gulfport Police officer is back on the job after recovering from severe injuries following a harrowing experience while responding to a wreck on I-10.

On, September 11, 2019, three Gulfport Police officers respond to a bad wreck in I-10, including rookie law enforcer Benjamin Ford. A driver lost control and hit one of the officers motorcycles. In a blur covering a split second, Ford knew something had gone horribly wrong.

“A woman is in the process of hitting one of our motorcycles,” said officer Benjamin Ford. “The motorcycle ended up launching towards us. I was running back to the concrete barrier to get away from the car. Next thing I knew I was going through the air and landing on the ground.”

He was rushed to the hospital and the incident took a physical toll on Ford.

“My tibia and fibula were both broken,” said Ford. “The tibia was broken in five places, the fibula broken once.”

The trauma of the incident didn’t leave him pondering questions about whether or not to come back, he has law enforcement in his blood. After a year of physical rehabilitation, Ford put on the badge, uniform and returned to work.

“I’ve always been bound and determined to do this job,” said Ford. “I went to the University of Southern Mississippi and got my degree in criminal justice. My grandfather was a CHP, a California Highway Patrolman. I’ve known my entire life I was going to be a police officer.”

After some light desk duty to reacquaint himself with the daily rigors of police work, Ford is now on patrol taking a regular shift.

“It feels great,” said Ford. “I couldn’t be happier about being back on the road. Couldn’t be happier.”

Officer Ford was a rookie at the time of the accident but now he’ll hit his two year anniversary with the force later this month.

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