By Kayla Betulius
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – A San Francisco police officer, only identified as “McFall,” and other unnamed officers are being sued after a mother of five claims she suffered a concussion, separated her right shoulder and endured mental distress as a result of being arrested for allegedly jaywalking here.
McFall, who has a history of use-of-force incidents, including a 2018 arrest that left a homeless man with two broken arms, is the subject of a formal complaint filed with the Department of Police Accountability, and a civil rights lawsuit against McFall and others involved in the wrongful arrest.
“We demand a thorough investigation and accountability for the excessive and disproportionate response by the SFPD,” said civil rights trial attorney Lateef Gray calling the actions of the SFPD a clear case of excessive force, adding, “This was an unreasonable detention by way of the use of force.”
Gray said his client, Christina Porter, a 34-year-old mother of five, sustained the serious injuries after a violent arrest by the San Francisco Police Department July 29.
Gray added the arrest, which was initiated for an alleged jaywalking infraction, was captured on both surveillance and bystander videos, drawing widespread concern and criticism from the community and civil rights advocates.
Porter was crossing Geary Boulevard near Second Avenue around 7 p.m. after visiting Office Depot to print documents related to an ongoing domestic violence case, said her lawyer, backed up by surveillance footage showing Porter, wearing headphones, using the crosswalk, and walking down the sidewalk.
Officer McFall’s SFPD vehicle appears in the video, initially crossing 2nd Avenue almost onto the sidewalk and then driving against traffic on Geary Boulevard before stopping and confronting her. The interaction quickly escalated, resulting in McFall forcibly slamming Porter against a wall and detaining her, the Pointer & Buelna law firm said in a statement.
Witnesses on the video stated that the traffic light had just turned green, contradicting Porter’s citation for crossing against a red light, asserted Gray, adding, “SFPD’s policy should prevent officers from using jaywalking as a pretext for deeper investigation, yet this policy was blatantly disregarded.”
“Following the arrest, Porter experienced significant physical pain including neck pain, lightheadedness, and blurred vision, prompting her to seek emergency medical care,” according to the plaintiff’s law firm.
Civil rights attorney Treva R. Stewart, also with Pointer & Buelna, criticized the charges against Porter as a “bogus cover-up” and condemned the misuse of power by the SFPD, demanding Porter’s be dismissed.
“This kind of blatant misuse of power and systemic disregard for the rights and safety of people is exactly why the city stopped allowing police to use jaywalking as a pretext for fishing expeditions,” Stewart said.
