Porter Assaulted in Dispute Over Cats, Denies Wrongdoing

Tallahassee City Commissioner Jack Porter was physically assaulted last week in an altercation sparked by a dispute over a cat, according to local law enforcement and newly released court documents.

Police say the incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. last Thursday on 7th Avenue when a woman, later identified as Brenda Hicks, approached Porter, accusing her of stealing her cat. Porter had been riding her bicycle and stopped to interact with a cat she said she had rescued previously. Hicks allegedly confronted her, shouting and using expletives. According to the arrest report, Porter attempted to defuse the situation and walk away, but Hicks blocked her path. The two then fell to the ground during the encounter. Porter’s boyfriend reportedly intervened and separated them before police arrived.

Hicks was arrested and charged with battery. Court documents quote Hicks telling responding officers that Porter had been “killing her cats by poisoning them and by taking them to the Humane Society.”

Police noted that Porter sustained a scratch extending from the corner of her mouth toward her cheek during the altercation. Porter, who has served on the Tallahassee City Commission since 2020, responded to media inquiries by emphatically denying any wrongdoing related to animals and reiterated her long-standing commitment to rescuing cats.

Hicks has entered a not guilty plea and remains on pre-trial release as the case proceeds through the judicial system.