Earlier today, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police acting chief Scott Schubert reaffirmed his support for officer Paul Abel who was involved in an altercation with Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter over the weekend.

"I fully support the officer and the action he took during this incident," Schubert said. "I support what he went through and the arrest that he made, just as I would support any officers given similar circumstance to what occurred that night."

Following an altercation where police say Porter was psychically combative with a South Side bouncer and officer Abel, the Steelers coach was initially charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, defiant trespass, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

But yesterday the Allegheny County District Attorney's office announced they were withdrawing the assault charges against Porter. In a statement, the district attorney's office said:
"Today our office was able to view surveillance video showing multiple angles of the events that led to the arrest of Steelers coach Joey Porter. Following that review, it is the position of the office that the only charges supported by the video are summary disorderly conduct and summary public drunkenness. Our office will proceed on those charges, and barring any additional evidence that is brought forward, we will withdraw the other charges at the appropriate time."

In a statement on Tuesday, Schubert disagreed with the district attorney's office when he said he "concluded that the officer's account of the incident is accurate" based on his review of the video footage available. Before the press today, Schubert would not comment on the the disparity between his and the DA's statements and said he believes Abel filed the appropriate charges.

"I have a lot of respect for District Attorney Zappala," Schubert said. "I'm not going to go in the media and do anything that counters that relationship."

City Paper also questioned why media outlets listed Porter's previous troubles without also mentioning Abel's. Today, the Steelers announced Porter's suspension was lifted and the linebackers' coach will be on the sidelines for the Steelers playoff game Sunday night in Kansas City.