California Woman Secures $17M Settlement After Violent Arrest
A California woman who was violently arrested by sheriff’s deputies during a 2020 family trip has secured a $17 million settlement.
Nakia Porter filed a federal lawsuit accusing Solano County Sheriff’s deputies of unlawful seizure, assault, and excessive force. ABC News reports that on Aug. 6, 2020, Porter, her father, and her three children pulled off a rural road in Dixon to switch drivers. According to the lawsuit, deputies approached with lights flashing as Porter stood outside the car. Body camera footage showed deputies pulling guns on her before slamming her to the ground, handcuffing her, and knocking her unconscious.
Porter’s father, Joe Powell, was also detained briefly. Porter was jailed overnight on suspicion of resisting arrest but was never charged. The lawsuit also alleged deputies filed false reports claiming she had fought them and misstated how long she was unconscious.
“For those that are listening, I am not resisting,” Porter said on the body camera video. “You are not reading me my rights.”
Porter, who is 5-foot-2 and 125 pounds, said deputies punched her, kneed her back, pulled her hair, and dragged her unconscious to a squad car. “I think she’s out,” one deputy can be heard saying during the altercation. She regained consciousness about five minutes later while sitting in the vehicle.
Her attorney, Yasin Almadani, said in a statement: “What happened to Ms. Porter and her family should never happen in our society.”
“These deputies treated us less than human and left a void we are still struggling to fill,” Porter said. “I cannot describe what this type of experience does to a person, but I wish it on no one.”
The Solano County Sheriff’s Office and county officials have not commented on the settlement, which was announced Monday, according to ABC News.