WASHOUGAL, Wash. — A candidate for mayor of Washougal was arrested Wednesday for domestic violence.
According to Camas police, Washougal police officers were initially dispatched to Derik Ford's home on the report of an assault. When officers arrived and recognized the suspect was a candidate for mayor, Washougal officers requested assistance from the Camas Police Department to avoid any conflict of interest, Camas police said. Ford had already left the scene when officers first arrived.
Ford's wife told Camas police they had a physical altercation and Ford assaulted her. Officers noticed red marks and scratches that matched her report, though she declined medical treatment, according to a news release.
Camas officers contacted Ford at a different location. He told officers there had been a "heated" argument, but denied a physical confrontation had taken place. Police said marks on Ford's body indicated otherwise.
"After he was arrested, Derik told officers that (his wife) had struck him but did not want her to get into any trouble," police said in a news release.
Based on Ford's wife's statements and injuries, and Ford's inconsistent statements, officers arrested Ford for domestic violence assault.
Ford now owns a restaurant in Washougal, but has a particularly troubled past in Oregon, first reported by the Camas Post-Record.
On his campaign website, Ford cites his 14 years as a Massage Envy franchisee among his qualifications. In that time, several of Ford's franchises were connected to sexual abuse allegations and poor business practices.
A KGW investigation found four Massage Envy therapists were accused of sexual assault in Oregon from 2012 to 2017 — at locations in Portland, Clackamas, Springfield/Eugene and Bend. The Better Business Bureau and records from the Oregon Secretary of State list Ford as the owner of the Bend and Eugene Massage Envy franchises, among others, during that time.
According to a lawsuit, a massage therapist working at the Bend location assaulted a customer in 2015, who reported the assault to police. Officers began investigating the incident and alerted Massage Envy of the investigation, but two more civil lawsuits claim the massage therapist was allowed to return to work, where he went on to assault more women. The therapist was eventually sentenced to more than four years in prison.
The Register-Guard reported in 2014 that two women who said they were assaulted by a massage therapist at Ford's Massage Envy outpost in Eugene sued Ford. Their lawsuit claims, like in Bend, the therapist who assaulted them was allowed to return to work even after his arrest.
According to KTVL, Ford closed his Medford franchise location suddenly in 2019 without warning employees or customers, while Massage Envy members continued to be charged monthly fees. KTVZ reports the Bend location closed under similar circumstances in March 2020.
Ford also wrote on his campaign website that he "served in law enforcement as an officer for seven years," though does not specify where he worked. An article from the Sweet Home newspaper from January 2005 refers to a lawsuit brought by Ford against the city after he was fired. The lawsuit alleged the city and police chief had defamed and publicly discredited him. Ford's lawsuit was later dismissed.
Ford came in second place in the August primary election for Washougal mayor. He'll face Rochelle Ramos in the general election in November.
