Joey Porter was arrested on several charges after an altercation outside a bar Sunday night, and details from the police report indicate the Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach tussled with a doorman and an off-duty police officer.
According to court records obtained by Liz Navratil of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Porter threatened a doorman — with whom he apparently had a history — at a bar called the Flats. The bar employee, Jon Neskow, asked Porter to leave as the former NFL linebacker was reportedly standing over him.
“Last time you (Porter) were here, you threatened to kill me,” Neskow told Porter. “You need to leave. You are not getting in.”
Pittsburgh police officer Paul Abel says he was informed of what was going on by another off-duty police officer who witnessed the altercation. When Abel arrived at the Flats, he asked what was going on and was ignored by Porter. Several other men told Abel, “Officer, we got him,” just before Porter allegedly became physical.
“As soon as these…males stated this, Porter lunged at Neskow and grasped Neskow by his arms and lifting him up off the ground,” the documents stated.
Abel stepped in to help grab Porter, and Porter is said to have grabbed him by the wrists. Abel wrote that Porter smelled of alcohol and released him once the Steelers coach realized he was scuffling with a police officer. Here’s more:
“Porter informed me that he was not touching me, as he was still holding my wrists,” Officer Abel wrote. He wrote that Mr. Porter then asked, “Did you hear what he (Neskow) said to me?”
The unidentified men again said, “We got him, Officer. We got him, Officer” and Mr. Porter then “suddenly released” Officer Abel and started backing away into East Carson Street, according to court paperwork.
Porter was charged with assault, resisting arrest, trespassing and disorderly conduct. As he was being handcuffed, he yelled that Abel was “lying” and insisted he never touched the officer.
The Steelers are aware of the incident and have not yet said if Porter will face disciplinary action prior to their playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend. At least one player from a division rival team was able to get a good laugh out of Porter’s arrest.
