The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office announced Jan. 12 that it will not be pursuing aggravated assault or resisting arrest charges against Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter.
In a statement provided to TribLive.com, the office said Porter would be charged with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness summary offenses:
Today our office was able to view surveillance video showing multiple angles of the events that led to the arrest of Steelers coach Joey Porter. Following that review, it is the position of the office that the only charges supported by the video are summary disorderly conduct and summary public drunkenness.
Our office will proceed on those charges, and barring any additional evidence that is brought forward, we will withdraw the other charges at the appropriate time.
On Jan. 13, the Steelers confirmed Porter will return to the coaching staff for the playoff matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. Josina Anderson of ESPN provided the statement from team president Art Rooney II:
At this time, we have decided that Joey Porter will return to our coaching staff for the game in Kansas City this weekend.
We have reviewed the available information regarding the incident that took place on Sunday night. We have also reviewed the communication from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office indicating the intention of that office to withdraw all but the summary offense charges.
As an organization, we have great respect for the job the City of Pittsburgh Police perform for our community.
We also respect the fact that there are ongoing legal proceedings stemming from the incident. We will await the outcome of the legal process and communicate further with the NFL regarding the Personal Conduct Policy before making any further decisions on potential discipline.
Porter's hearing on the charges was postponed from Thursday to February 21, per Colin Deppen of PennLive.com on Wednesday.
Porter, 39, was arrested outside a Pittsburgh bar Sunday after the Steelers' Wild Card Round win over the Miami Dolphins. He was initially charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, simple assault on a doorman, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, defiant trespass and public drunkenness.
According to the original police report, an officer approached Porter when he was arguing with a doorman at The Flats bar. Porter was denied entry to the bar, leading to his allegedly grabbing the doorman and lifting him from the ground.
The police officer who filed the report then grabbed Porter, who then grabbed the officer by the wrists. He was handcuffed after initially refusing and was charged on multiple counts, including felony aggravated assault.
After reviewing footage of the incident, the district attorney's office determined Porter's actions did not warrant an assault charge against either individual. The Steelers had placed Porter on leave ahead of their divisional-round matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs prior to his reinstatement.
Porter, who played linebacker for the Steelers from 1999-2006, has been a defensive assistant under head coach Mike Tomlin since 2014. He currently works as the team's outside linebackers coach.
