FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida jury sided Monday with a white Florida police officer accused of shoving a kneeling Black woman to the bottom throughout a protest greater than two years in the past.
Broward County jurors acquitted Fort Lauderdale officer Steven Pohorence, 31, of a battery cost, the Sun Sentinel reported. The jury was made up of three males, two of whom had been Black, and three ladies. The misdemeanor was punishable by as much as a 12 months in jail.
Prosecutors mentioned Pohorence shoved a then-19-year-old protester who was kneeling throughout one of the demonstrations that occurred throughout the U.S. following the May 2020 homicide of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Prosecutor Chris Killoran mentioned Pohorence was annoyed throughout a Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Fort Lauderdale when he pushed the woman, which was an pointless and prison overreaction.
Defense lawyer Michael Dutko mentioned the woman’s raised arms had been on the degree of the officer’s gun, and video proof was unclear whether or not the officer and the woman ever really made contract.
Pohorence had been positioned on administrative depart with out pay after being charged. It was not instantly clear if or when he would return to work.