Bay Area man sues Pittsburg Police Department for alleged civil rights violation during 2022 mental health crisis incident

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — Ashton Porter's attorney filed a lawsuit this week claiming members of the Pittsburg Police Department violated his civil rights.

This lawsuit stems from an incident in February 2022, in which Porter locked himself in a room at the Hampton Inn while experiencing a mental health crisis. Porter refused to leave the room and officers used gas and pepper spray to force him out. Once he left the room, the officers shot him.

“They are abandoning the trust that the community has placed in them,” said Adante Pointer, Ashton’s attorney. “Instead, they deployed escalation and deadly force and essentially terrorized a man and his family.”

RESOURCES: Get help for mental health issues

Porter's family had just moved to Georgia, but she was having issues with the move.

“I was going through a really tough time,” Porter said. “Dealing with some things in Georgia that affected me greatly”

His attorney shared police body camera video of that incident.

It first showed a county crisis response worker trying to help Porter. Porter is still not out. The police intervened to try to make him surrender. They used a battering ram to break down the door. He still didn't leave and that's when the police started using gas and spray.

“I called for help,” Porter said. “I explained to them that I didn't really understand what was happening at the time and that I just wanted to have time to get some sleep and try to clear my mind any way I could.”

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The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office charged Porter with several counts of assault on a police officer and one count of trespassing and refusing to leave. The prosecutor's office says the court referred him to mental health treatment.

“I went to therapy,” Porter said. “It’s been hard on me and my family.”

We have contacted the Pittsburg Police Department and are awaiting a response.

Porter's family thought they were going to lose him.

“I felt like it was our fault for calling the police and we shouldn't have,” said Natalia Metts, Porter's daughter. “Who do you call when the police don't do the right thing?

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