Jason Porter

How they died

Deadly force

Driving a stolen pickup and without a license, Porter was chased by police and ended up stuck on railroad tracks in an industrial parking lot. A local officer stepped up to the pickup and fatally shot Porter once, in the head, because the officer thought he saw a gun. There was no gun. Lingering controversy followed the case: witnesses contradicted the police narrative, Porter's father was sent to prison for hiring a hitman to kill the officer, and county reviews stretched on for nine years.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Jason Porter, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources