FORT LAUDERDALE – A South Florida jury sided Monday with a white Fort Lauderdale police officer accused of shoving a kneeling Black lady to the floor all through a protest far more than two decades ago.
Broward County jurors acquitted officer Steven Pohorence, 31, of a battery cost.
The jury was created up of 3 gentlemen, two of whom have been Black, and three women. The misdemeanor was punishable by up to a calendar year in jail.
Prosecutors stated Pohorence shoved a then-19-yr-aged protester who was kneeling during one of the demonstrations that happened throughout the U.S. subsequent the May 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Prosecutor Chris Killoran claimed Pohorence was frustrated during a Black Life Matter demonstration in downtown Fort Lauderdale when he pushed the girl, which was an avoidable and felony overreaction.
Protection lawyer Michael Dutko stated the woman’s raised arms have been at the stage of the officer’s gun, and video evidence was unclear no matter whether the officer and the lady at any time basically designed contract.
Pohorence experienced been placed on administrative go away without the need of shell out soon after currently being charged. It was not promptly very clear if or when he would return to operate.
