Following a Steelers playoff win on Sunday, assistant coach and former All-Pro linebacker Joey Porter was arrested outside a Pittsburgh bar. A criminal complaint has been filed against Porter, who was threatening a doorman at the bar and arguing with the arresting officer.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette obtained court documents that explained the altercation between Porter and the South Side doorman:
According to a criminal complaint filed early today, Pittsburgh police Officer Paul Abel was working an off-duty assignment at a bar in the South Side when another off-duty officer informed him that “the doorman for the Flats, located at 1500 E. Carson St., was being threatened by a Pittsburgh Steeler.”
Officer Abel wrote that he went to the Flats and saw Mr. Porter “standing over the door man, later identified as Jon Neskow.” Mr. Neskow told Mr. Porter, “Last time you (Porter) were here, you threatened to kill me. You need to leave. You are not getting in,” according to the complaint.
Porter had to be physically restrained by Officer Abel and a group of other unidentified men after he lifted Neskow off the ground. According to the reports, Porter, who smelled of alcohol and towered over the policeman, then grabbed the officer’s wrists and began yelling at him. The men intervened again and Officer Abel called for reinforcements.
A video obtained by TMZ shows Porter arguing with several policemen as they handcuff him. It’s unclear what he is saying but there are at least three policemen on the scene and a fourth arrives during the arrest:
Porter, who is scheduled for a preliminary hearing January 19, is out after posting $25,000 bail. He was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, defiant trespass, disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness.
He has been placed on leave by the Steelers.