The Associated Press (August 18, 2021) – ‘I think she’s out,’ deputy says after violent arrest
Washington Post (August 18, 2021) – ‘I think she’s out,’ deputy says after violent arrest
Kron 4 Telecast (August 19, 2021) – Woman allegedly knocked unconscious during arrest sues Solano County Sheriff’s Office
NPR (August 19, 2021) – Deputies Knocked A Woman Unconscious And Then Lied About It, A Federal Lawsuit Says
Sacramento Bee (August 19, 2021) – ‘God, bless me.’ Video shows Sacramento woman unconscious after incident with Solano deputies
KQED (August 19, 2021) – Federal Lawsuit: Solano County Sheriffs Knocked Woman Unconscious, Then Lied About It
KTVU Fox 2 Telecast (August 24, 2021) – Nakia Porter says she was attacked and left unconscious by deputies with the Solano County Sheriff’s Office in Dixon
Video – Assault by Solano Sheriff’s Deputies (5 minutes) (Warning: Graphic Content)
Video – Assault and Cover-up by Solano County Sheriff’s Deputies (9 minutes) (Warning: Graphic Content)
Video – Press Conference
Video (Who is Nakia Porter) (Oct. 2014) – Connie Bowman and Nakia Porter Make Raw Almond Cupcakes (3 minutes)
Civil Rights Complaint – Porter v. Solano County Sheriff’s Office (Case No. 2:21-CV-01473-KJM-JDP)
SACRAMENTO, August 18, 2021 – A Black family that was assaulted last year by Solano County Sheriff’s deputies filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today in the Eastern District of California against Solano County, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, Sergeant Roy Stockton, Deputy Dalton McCampbell, and Deputy Lisa McDowell, alleging unlawful arrest and excessive force and other constitutional and statutory violations of their rights.
According to the lawsuit, on August 6, 2020, Plaintiffs Nakia Porter and her father JB Powell were driving from Oakland to Sacramento at night with Ms. Porter’s two daughters (ages 3 and 4) and niece (age 6)—Mr. Powell’s three grandchildren—when Solano County Sheriff’s Deputies McCampbell and McDowell unlawfully arrested, detained, and assaulted the family. Ms. Porter (33 years old) and Mr. Powell (61 years old) were driving home after having taken the children to the Malanga Center in Oakland to learn about the history of African drums, dance, and culture. The family decided to stop mid-way in Dixon so that Ms. Porter could take a break from driving and Mr. Powell could drive the rest of the way home. They did so safely by exiting the freeway and finding a safe side road where there was no traffic.
However, as Ms. Porter and her father were in the process of switching seats, Solano County Sheriff’s deputies unexpectedly approached the family. Ms. Porter—a Black woman who is 5 feet 2 inches and 125 pounds and who had done nothing wrong—politely explained that she was switching seats with her father. Without provocation, the Deputies suddenly decided to handcuff and arrest Mr. Porter without cause as she was complying with their commands. Ms. Porter pleaded in fear for an explanation, as her father and children watched helplessly in horror.
Without any provocation, Deputies McCampbell and McDowell then dragged Ms. Porter out of the view of their patrol car dash camera and physically beat her, punching, kicking, kneeing, and striking her in the back of the neck, head, face, and stomach, as she struggled and prayed for her life in desperation, pleading, “God, bless me! Bless me, God!” Defendant McCampbell, a large male deputy, forced Ms. Porter onto her stomach and mounted her while Defendant McDowell, a large female deputy, grabbed her by the hair and shoved her face into the concrete. The beating was so extreme that Ms. Porter lost consciousness. Not fazed, Deputy McCampbell continued to sit on her for about a minute before he dragged her handcuffed, unconscious body into a Sheriff’s vehicle. Ms. Porter remained unconscious for over five minutes, which is a sign of a Grade III concussion.
“As the officers dragged me away and beat me, all I could think of was my children. I thought I was going to die and never see them. I struggled for my life, praying to God to save me. Then everything went black. When I came to, I was handcuffed inside the Sheriff’s car, my head spinning and my entire body hurting. But they did not stop with me. They arrested my father and terrorized my young children who were left alone in the car while the deputies searched our car for no reason. These deputies treated us less than human and left a void we are still struggling to fill. I cannot describe what this type of experience does to a person, but I wish it on no one. I try to stay positive and move forward a little bit each day. This cannot happen again—to anyone. I want to see real change,” said Nakia.
McCampbell and McDowell then proceeded to remove Mr. Powell from the family’s vehicle, even though he, too, had done nothing wrong and was trying to keep his granddaughters safe, fearing for all of their lives since he did not know what the deputies were going to do next. McCampbell ordered Mr. Powell out of the car and terrorized and humiliated him by making him walk backwards over 30 feet at gunpoint with his hands on the back of his head. The deputies handcuffed him and placed him in a separate Sheriff’s vehicle. Mr. Powell is decades older than Deputy McCampbell. McCampbell nevertheless demeaned Mr. Powell by calling him “young man,” which to Mr. Powell sounded like the racial slur “boy” used to demean Black men. Even after all this, Mr. Powell continued to explain in a remarkably calm and polite way that he and his daughter were just switching seats so that he could drive home. His three young granddaughters were left alone in the car in the dark, scared without their caretakers and having witnessed the deputies arrest and beat their mother/aunt, and take their grandfather away at gunpoint. Making the situation even more terrifying for the young girls, the assailants, Deputies McCampbell and McDowell, along with other Sheriff’s deputies illegally searched the vehicle with the girls inside. Of course, they found no evidence of a crime because there was no crime other than the ones deputies committed.
“As a father and grandfather, every bone in my body wanted to jump out of that vehicle and save my daughter. But I knew if I got out, they might shoot her and me. So, I followed their orders and sat back and watched. It was torture. No one should go through that, but people of color do far too often. We did everything right and they still violated our dignity. This needs to change,” said JB.
The lawsuit further alleges that Deputies McCampbell and McDowell then lied about what had happened, stating that Ms. Porter had been non-compliant and tried to flee and fight them, which is provably false. They also minimized her injuries, lying about the period of time she was unconscious, which prevented her from getting the examination and treatment that she needed. The Sheriff’s deputies booked Ms. Porter in the county jail overnight based on the deputies’ fabricated story. Fortunately, body camera footage contradicted the Sheriff’s Office’s false accounts and the District Attorney declined to prosecute.
According to the lawsuit, law enforcement agencies in Solano County have historically had issues with excessive force and racial profiling. There has been reporting that Solano County Sheriff’s deputies, including Defendant Sergeant Roy Stockton, who supervised Deputies McCampbell and McDowell, belong to a right-wing extremist group, The Three Percenters, whose members have espoused violence and engaged in racist rhetoric. Nevertheless, the Sheriff’s Office and County have failed to appropriately and transparently investigate these issues. In fact, Solano County has actively resisted and struck down any measure that would establish a board to oversee the Sheriff’s Office. “Solano County sheriff’s deputies grossly abused their power to intentionally hurt an innocent woman of color, her elderly father, and her young children. This family had done nothing wrong. The Sheriff’s Office has failed to hold these deputies accountable and, in fact, even supported their attempt to bring false charges against Ms. Porter to avoid blame,” said Yasin M. Almadani, the family’s attorney. “This terrible violence is inflicted upon people of color far too often, devastating entire communities. With this lawsuit, we seek justice for Nakia and her family and also seek to uncover and reform the unlawful practices at the Solano County Sheriff’s Office and stop the violence.”
About the Attorney for Plaintiffs
Yasin M. Almadani is the founding shareholder of Almadani Law, a Los Angeles law firm specializing in civil rights, class actions, business disputes, major frauds, criminal defense, and government-facing investigations and lawsuits. Mr. Almadani is an experienced trial lawyer who served as an Assistant United States Attorney for nearly a decade in both the Central and the Eastern Districts of California. Before entering public service, he was in private practice where he litigated high-stakes cases typically involving hundreds of millions of dollars in dispute.
For additional information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Yasin M. Almadani
Direct: 949.877.7177
E-mail: YMA@lawalm.com