Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter’s charges reduced after being arrested after win

The Pittsburgh Steelers are riding high following Sunday’s 30-12 win over the Miami Dolphins. Outside linebackers coach and former Steelers player Joey Porter, however, ended his night with an arrest for an altercation with a police officer.

The Steelers placed Porter on leave from the team on Monday, according to NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano. He spent four days on team-administered leave, but was allowed to come back for the team’s game against the Chiefs.

Porter was arrested at 9:30 p.m. last Sunday night outside of a bar called The Flats on the south side of Pittsburgh after an altercation with a doorman and security guards.

According to the court complaint, the doorman later identified as Jon Neskow told Porter he couldn’t enter the bar because, “Last time you were here, you threatened to kill me.” When Porter then lunged at the bouncer, an off-duty officer pushed him back.

“I placed my hands on Porter’s chest to prevent him from advancing back towards Neskow,” the officer wrote. “Porter grabbed both of my wrists, pushing them back towards me. Porter’s grasp was so strong and he was holding my wrists so tightly that I could not pull them away from him, no matter how hard I tried. Porter was extremely agitated and after my observations of him grabbing Neskow and now grabbing me, I believed that he was going to cause me serious injury.”

Porter was taken to the Allegheny County Jail and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, public drunkenness and terroristic threats, per the Pittsburgh Police Department. On Monday morning, he posted $25,000 bail and released.

On Thursday, Porter’s charges were reduced:

The Steelers’ Director of Communications, Burt Lauten, gave a statement Sunday night on Porter’s arrest to ESPN’s Josina Anderson.

”We are aware of an incident tonight involving Joey Porter,” the statement read. “We are still gathering information as it pertains to the situation, and we will have no further comment until we get more details.”

Porter said in a team statement via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, “I regret that I was involved in an incident that could have been a distraction to our team,” Porter said. “Most importantly, I regret that I touched the police officer and I sincerely apologize for that action. Thankfully, no one was injured.

Porter also made headlines during last year’s playoffs for an on-field altercation during Pittsburgh’s postseason victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Towards the end of the game, Porter came onto the field and provoked Bengals cornerback Adam Jones, who was then flagged for a personal foul. Coaches are not permitted to be on the field of play during a timeout, and Porter was later fined $10,000 for his role in the incident.