Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Found Not Guilty of Assault to Demand Reinstatement

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After a jury found him not guilty of battery, Officer Steven Pohorence will ask the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to reinstate him, his defense attorneys said.

Pohorence will also be fighting for pay after prosecutors charged him with battery for pushing a woman who was kneeling near Broward County’s main library during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest.

The verdict was announced by the jury on Monday afternoon. The defense relied on testimony from an expert who said Pohorence acted lawfully when he tried to help a colleague.

Carlos Gonzalez, an expert on law enforcement’s use of force, said last week that Pohorence used a police tactic to help a colleague.

“I saw what I describe as a swimming maneuver,” Gonzalez said in court. “He stepped through and swam across.”

Gonzalez said Pohorence was responding to a call for help from an officer who was scared because crowds of protesters surrounded him and shook a car.