Christiana Porter, a woman who was slammed against a wall by a San Francisco police officer, who accused her of resisting arrest while he attempted to cite her for jaywalking, will receive an $825,000 settlement from the city, according to an ordinance seeking to authorize the payment.
The Board of Supervisors’ Government Oversight Committee will hear the settlement on Sept. 3.
Jaywalking, under California law, only warrants a stop and citation if a jaywalker is in immediate danger of collision. Video of the incident obtained by Mission Local in 2024 showed Porter crossing an empty street at the crosswalk before being pursued by a police car driving the wrong way down Geary Boulevard.
In the video, Porter, who is wearing large headphones, does not appear to realize that a police car is following her until the car stops and police officer Josh McFall jumps out to intercept her directly.
Porter told Mission Local that McFall asked her for her ID, and she reached into her purse to retrieve it. As she attempted to do so, McFall told her to remove her hand from her purse; soon after, he pushed her against the wall so violently that she received a concussion, a separated shoulder, and ongoing back pain.
As it turned out, Porter was on an errand to print out forms relating to a then-ongoing domestic violence case.
The settlement would resolve a lawsuit Porter filed in March 2025.
The San Francisco Police Department accused her of resisting arrest, but the district attorney’s office did not file charges against her.
In March of last year, around the time the lawsuit was filed, Porter said that eight months later, she was still afraid to leave the house alone. Porter is also a single mother of six, and told the San Francisco Standard she would use the settlement to provide for them.
McFall is still employed by SFPD, according to his LinkedIn.
Glad she got some kind of compensation, but this officer should’ve been fired. And where does the money come from to pay for the settlement? I’m guessing we tax-payer are footing the bill and it does not impact SFPD at all. When there are no real consequences for bad behavior, don’t expect to see any changes.
Firing cops for performing the primary functions of the police (i,e., protecting the life and property of the ruling classes, and intimidating the lower classes into passive submission of immiseration), would send a signal to cops that such behavior is not acceptable. This behavior is acceptable to the ruling classes, so the ruling classes will not discourage such behavior. If this behavior were not acceptable to the ruling classes, McFall would have taken the fall.
Like so much of the ever-increasing police state, res ipsa loquitur.
In response to the question of who pays for the settlement, I hope ML is able to share The Chron’s graphic on most highly compensated SF public workers. In the over $450k class 72% (of 700 employees) were law enforcement including $900k for the top earner–that’s annual pay! Makes me think that someone is control of a huge slushfund.
Love the comments from the cop lovers who clearly did not watch the surveillance video. It clearly shows her crossing in a crosswalk on an empty street and then a cop car driving the wrong way on Geary stops to harass her. When she reaches in her purse for her id, he shoves her violently against a wall. This is why she wasn’t prosecuted. The cop is clearly a psycopath who decided to spend some time tormented a woman alone on a lonely street. But the cop mafia protects its own, always.
Great, the city paid, and was held responsible. But I want to know if the officers involved still hold law enforcement credentials. They shouldn’t get to walk without being held to account either.
She should get more compensation from the City and the cop should be fired.
Someone please purchase two beers for Two Beers.
Cheers
She was in the wrong to jaywalk and God knows we don’t want another fatal accident. But how is she to produce her ID without reaching in to her purse??
The video clearly shows her walking in the crosswalk. Unless she was walking against a red light, which I can’t discern from the video, but there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger.
Looks like she was resisting arrest
No, it doesn’t. Jaywalking isn’t an arrestable offense anyway. Stop simping.
I hate the cops more than anyone, but Christiana blatantly jaywalked right in front of the cop car. She was clearly in “immediate danger of collision” and deserves a ticket or arrest. Jaywalking is a real problem, more downtown than in the avenues, and this should be a wakeup call for jaywalkers, especially with headphones on.
After the cop stops her, she clearly tries to walk away! She could’ve ended up with much worse than getting shoved against a wall. I’m not saying that as justification for the violence against her, but as a remark on probable outcomes when a person tries to walk away from cops actively detaining or arresting them. So — f the cops, but also f jaywalkers!
Imagine being the driver isn’t a cop, and how that would’ve went.
Then maybe you’ll realize how absolutely stupid this perspective this.
Oh wait, you won’t need to, because our DA who’s known to be jumping at the chance to prove herself, chose not to pursue this because of how absolutely stupid that would be.
God, this take is dumb.
SFPD policy is that unless someone jaywalking is in direct imminent danger of being struck by a vehicle it’s not even illegal. Learn things before you spout.
She was wearing earbuds and never heard the officer until he put hands on. Obviously the ‘crime’ does not fit the ‘punishment’ and you’re being obtuse.
Surveillance video showed Porter crossing legally in a crosswalk before being aggressively intercepted.