Ashton Porter survived those injuries on Feb. 24, 2022, but "no reasonable person would claim that experiencing a mental health crisis is a crime befitting the punishment of being shot multiple times," wrote his attorneys, Adante Pointer, Patrick Buelna and Ty Clarke.The suit was filed in U.S. District Court against the city of Pittsburg and individual officers, including Officer Ernesto Mejia-Orozco, Lt. William Hatcher, Sgt. Cory Smith and Chief Brian Addington.
Hatcher "dismissed" the mental health team for unknown reasons, taking over all communications with Porter, according to the lawsuit and body camera video. "Hatcher began implementing… plan to aggressively force Mr. Porter out of his room, rather than de-escalate the situation," the lawsuit alleges.First, police hit the door with a battering ram, "fueling Mr. Porter's fears that he was under attack," according to the suit.