A Fort Lauderdale police officer caught on video last month who appeared to be pushing a kneeling protester with his hands up was charged with assault on Tuesday, authorities said.
Indictments filed in Broward County Circuit Court allege that the officer, Steven Pohorence, 29, intentionally hit or touched the protester on May 31.
The charge, a first-degree misdemeanor, was filed after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail, state attorney’s office Michael Satz said in a statement. .
The demonstration, held after George Floyd’s death on May 25 while in Minneapolis police custody, began on a Sunday afternoon with hundreds of protesters peacefully gathered in a park in Fort Lauderdale, NBC Miami reported.
Authorities blamed the “agitators” after tensions erupted between the authorities and protesters, but the video showed Pohorence yelling at protesters who were kneeling around him just before the event escalated, the station reported.
After Pohorence, who is white, pushed the 19-year-old woman, who is black, a second officer who is also black can be seen pushing Pohorence away from the protester.
Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione praised Second Officer Krystle Smith, saying he did “what you are supposed to do.”
“When you see adrenaline or excitement or some kind of interaction going south … that’s our job” to intervene, Maglione said, according to the station.
The protester’s mother, Danielle Casey, told NBC Miami that her daughter had gone to the rally because “she felt her voice needed to be heard.”
“I needed to belong to something positive, to defend something that is correct,” Casey said.
The incident was one of several after Floyd’s death in which authorities were accused of being overly aggressive towards protesters. Six officers in Atlanta were arrested after police were forcibly seen removing two college students from a car and appearing to use a stun gun on them. One of the students suffered a broken arm.
In Buffalo, two officers were charged with second-degree assault after being caught on video pushing a 75-year-old man to the ground. The man, Martin Gugino, suffered a brain injury.
Following Tuesday’s announcement of the charges, Maglione said Pohorence, who was suspended after the May 31 incident, will be placed on administrative leave without pay. Once the criminal process is complete, an administrative investigation will determine if it violated departmental policies, Maglione said.
Neither Pohorence’s attorney nor the Broward County Police Benevolent Association immediately responded to requests for comment.
