A Black woman whom San Francisco police violently arrested in 2024 after accusing her of jaywalking is set to receive an $825,000 settlement.
Christiana Porter had eight seconds remaining on the pedestrian signal when she entered a crosswalk to cross the street.
As she reached the other side, San Francisco police officer Josh McFall pulled up to the intersection and activated his emergency lights. McFall said he ordered Porter to stop, but surveillance video of the encounter has no audio.
Porter, who wore headphones, continued walking because she did not realize McFall was trying to stop her. McFall then drove into oncoming traffic, pulled alongside her and shoved her against a wall.
“I’m not resisting!” Porter cried out in a video recorded by a witness. “Get off of me!”
“Get on the ground! Stop resisting,” McFall responded.
Several officers soon arrived to assist with the arrest as bystanders criticized the officers’ aggression.
“F-ck the police!” one man yelled.
“Turn on your cameras!” another man shouted. “Give me your name, give me your badge number.”
After officers handcuffed Porter, witnesses questioned McFall about why he had arrested her. McFall complained about being recorded.
“Putting a camera in my face is rude,” McFall said.
“It’s not rude, it’s for our protection,” a witness responded.
The person recording then lowered the camera while McFall attempted to justify the arrest.
“She refused all commands to stop, refused commands to give me her ID, refused commands to keep her hands out of her pocket and her purse where she had I don’t know what,” McFall said.
“People often have weapons concealed there.”
Watch video below.
More Than Two Dozen Officers Responded
The incident occurred on July 29, 2024, shortly after Porter, a domestic-abuse survivor, left an Office Depot where she had printed domestic-abuse materials from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
Porter’s lawsuit alleges that she entered the crosswalk with eight seconds remaining on the pedestrian signal. McFall allegedly wanted to run a red light and honked his horn.
Porter said she heard the horn but did not believe it was directed at her because she had not violated any law. She continued down the sidewalk, which, according to the lawsuit, angered McFall.
McFall then drove into oncoming traffic, stopped near Porter and approached her, the lawsuit states.
“Defendant McFall walked aggressively toward Ms. Porter and directly into her path,” the lawsuit states, adding that he startled her.
McFall asked Porter for identification, according to the lawsuit. Porter attempted to comply by reaching into her purse.
“However, Defendant McFall reached for his firearm and yelled at her to ‘stop reaching into your bag. You are under arrest,’” the lawsuit states.
Porter asked why McFall was arresting her. The lawsuit, which was filed in August 2024, alleges that McFall then grabbed her and violently threw her against a wall.
McFall called for backup, and as many as 25 officers responded to assist with the arrest, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendant Officers’ conduct was so outrageous that members of the public stopped to video record the incident and loudly voice their protests against it,” the lawsuit states.
Officers placed Porter in a patrol car, drove her to the station, cited her for jaywalking and resisting arrest, then released her. The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office never prosecuted her for the citations.
In 2018, McFall was among several officers accused of leaving a homeless man with two broken arms during a trespassing arrest, according to Mission Local.
California Law and SFPD Policy
Porter’s arrest came after California enacted its Freedom to Walk Act in January 2023. The law generally bars police from stopping pedestrians for jaywalking unless a reasonably careful person would recognize an immediate danger of a collision.
The law aimed to curb pretextual stops, in which officers use minor infractions to investigate people for unrelated crimes. Critics have long warned that police disproportionately use such stops against minorities.
A week before Porter’s arrest, the San Francisco Police Department also implemented a policy barring officers from making stops for certain low-level traffic offenses to reduce pretextual policing.
“Pretext stops are disproportionately carried out against people of color and return negligible public safety benefits,” the policy states.
“The fiscal, human, and societal costs they impose on our City are unjustified in light of more effective public safety tools at the Department’s disposal.”
The policy also states that reducing stops for low-level offenses would allow the department to devote more time and resources to effective public-safety strategies, including traffic safety efforts intended to reduce injuries and fatalities.
But video of Porter’s arrest raises questions about whether the officers followed the newly enacted policy.
Porter’s claim cited SFPD data showing that officers stopped Black/African American people 5.6 to 6.9 times more often than white people.
“Black/African American individuals represented 42% of the total number of individuals subjected to uses of force by SFPD Officers, while White individuals represented 24% of that total,” the claim states.
Porter Reacts to Settlement
Porter, a mother of six, told local media that she plans to use the settlement money for her children. She also plans to make a film about her experience.
“I’m very happy,” Porter told the San Francisco Standard.
“I hope SFPD does the right thing and holds those who harm citizens accountable.”
“This is something that happens to many citizens, and I’m just fortunate that my story was highlighted and became such a high-profile story, so I feel like it’s my duty to write about it.”
Porter said the arrest left her with a concussion and a dislocated shoulder, injuries that continue to affect her.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors must still approve the $825,000 settlement, which officials expect it to do next month.
