Union City police officer, president of the Police Officers Association, Michael David Ward, 43, was arrested Feb. 8 in Pleasanton.
Union City police officer Michael David Ward, who serves as the president of the local Police Officers Association, was arrested last week on suspicion of driving under the influence.
According to the Fremont Argus, Ward, 43, was arrested at about 12:15 a.m. on Feb. 8 in Pleasanton after a CHP officer spotted him using a cell phone while driving a Toyota pickup truck on Bernal Avenue.
The officer stopped Ward, conducted a field sobriety test and determined that he was intoxicated, the report said.
The Argus also reports that Ward was the subject of a 2006 federal civil rights lawsuit in which Ward was accused of wrongfully attacking and arrested a Berkeley man. The lawsuit was settled out of court later that year.
As president of the Police Officers Association, Ward participated in a number of community events, including fundraisers for the New Haven Unified School District and the Special Olympics Torch Run, among others.
With his arrest, Ward, a 22-year police veteran, becomes the third Tri-City area police officer arrested for drunk driving this month.
Fremont police officer Paul Singleton, 47, was arrested Feb. 3 on Interstate 680 in Fremont on suspicion of driving under the influence. Brendon Johnson, also a Fremont police officer, was arrested early Saturday morning on Interstate 580 in Livermore.