On July 29, 2024, Christiana Porter, a 34-year-old Black single mother and domestic violence survivor, was brutally attacked in broad daylight by SFPD Officer Josh McFall. Without warning, Officer McFall slammed Christiana’s head against a wall so hard that she suffered a concussion and a separated shoulder, apparently for “walking while Black” in a city that uses policing as a weapon against the poor, the unhoused, and our Black and Brown neighbors.

Despite there being video evidence of Ofc. McFall’s actions, the City and County of San Francisco has denied Christiana’s claim and refused to take accountability for wrongdoing, further traumatizing Christiana and furthering SFPD’s culture of racialized violence and impunity. The City and SFPD have not apologized to Christiana, nor have they taken disciplinary action against the officer involved, nor issued a public statement of concern about this incident.

This is not an isolated incident. This is one of the main things that policing was designed to do: control, harm, and silence Black people. The roots of American policing can be traced back to slave patrols, and this history continues to shape how policing disproportionately targets, controls, and harms Black communities. Porter has since filed a lawsuit against the City, citing excessive use of force and the lasting trauma she has endured.

As socialists, we are committed to dismantling the system of state repression that continues to harm the most vulnerable while shielding its enforcers from consequence. At our 2025 Annual Convention, DSA SF unanimously passed a resolution demanding justice for Christiana Porter and full accountability from the City and SFPD. You can read the text of the full resolution at dsasf.org/porter-resolution. 

DSA SF stands in unwavering solidarity with Christiana Porter and all those impacted by racist policing, and will continue to organize and fight alongside communities demanding dignity, safety, and accountability.