Closing arguments began Monday afternoon in the battery trial of Fort Lauderdale police Officer Steven Pohorence.

Closing arguments began Monday afternoon in the battery trial of Fort Lauderdale police Officer Steven Pohorence.

A Fort Lauderdale police officer’s trial over a battery during a protest continued for the fourth day on Friday in Broward County court.

A Fort Lauderdale police officer charged with battery returned to court on Thursday after he was caught on camera shoving a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.

A Fort Lauderdale police officer charged with battery after he was caught on camera shoving a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020 will appear in court on Wednesday,

A Fort Lauderdale police officer charged with battery after he was caught on camera shoving a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020 will soon go on trial.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Fort Lauderdale police released hours and hours of the police-worn body camera footage from a Black Lives Matter protest that erupted into violence in May. In part of the video, two officers are heard cursing, laughing and appearing to be joking about shooting protesters and potentially injuring them with rubber bullets. Its the same protest from May 31st where LaToya Ratlieff, was hit in the eye with a rubber bullet, and where a 19-year-old protester was on her knees and got shoved by Fort Lauderdale Police officer Steven Pohorence. Now there are questions about what changes are needed in the Fort Lauderdale police's policies. It reflects poorly on the city of Fort Lauderdale, attorney Christina Currie, the chair of the Citizen Police Review Board for Fort Lauderdale, said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Fort Lauderdale police released all of the police-worn body camera forage from a Black Lives Matter protest that erupted into violence in May. In the video, two officers are heard cursing, laughing and appearing to be joking about shooting protesters and potentially injuring them with rubber bullets. It's the same black lives matter protest from May 31st where a protester, LaToya Ratlieff, was hit in the eye with a rubber bullet, and where a 19-year-old protester was on her knees and got shoved by Fort Lauderdale Police officer Steven Pohorence, who was charged with battery on Tuesday. Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione sent out a statement on Wednesday in response to the newly released video, saying:The entire video clearly demonstrates our officers were under attack by a group of people who chose to use violence instead of peace to antagonize the situation. Although the language is extreme, and offensive to some, our officers were dealing with the chaos of a developing situationFurthermore, he said his department is currently reviewing some 8,000 minutes of body camera footage from that May 31st protest.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. He may not have been in court Wednesday, but the charging documents are in against Fort Lauderdale police officer Steven Pohorence, who was charged with battery a month after pushing a female protester who was on her knees. The victims mother, Danielle Casey, reacted to the first-degree misdemeanor charge in a statement, saying: We are happy to see that justice is beginning to be served but a misdemeanor charge feels light. Court records show the decision to charge Pohorence with the misdemeanor was based in part on the victims injuries, which were detailed in her medical records. Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Magilone reviewed the officers body-worn camera footage, particularly incidents involving two Black men on separate occasions. He has worked for the Fort Lauderdale PD since October 2016 after spending almost four years with the Florida Highway Patrol.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. The Fort Lauderdale police officer who was seen on video pushing a female protester on May 31 is being charged with battery, Broward State Attorney Mike Satz announced Tuesday. Officer Steven Pohorence, 29, is charged with battery for intentionally touching or striking the 19-year-old woman by pushing [the victim] to the ground, according to court records. Prosecutors filed the charging document in Broward County Court on Tuesday after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Satzs office said. The battery charge is a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries a maximum punishment of up to one year in jail, prosecutor say. A date has not yet been scheduled for Pohorence to appear in court.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Magilone was set to talk about Officer Steven Pohorence, who was suspended after pushing a teenage protester who was kneeling on the ground with her arms up. When Pohorence pushed the teenager during a Black Lives Matter protest on May 31st in downtown Fort Lauderdale, there were people recording with their mobile phones. The Broward State Attorneys Office forwarded the case to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The 29-year-old former Florida Highway Patrol trooper received several commendations and positive reviews. Pohorence also had 70 incidents under investigation by internal affairs in about four years.

Williams said he spoke for all other police chiefs in Broward County by denouncing the actions of the officers involved in Floyd’s death and said they “ready and willing” to help the public protest peacefully. “No one hates a bad cop more than a good cop,” he said. The Broward Chiefs of Police Association’s plan of action includes the following:1. Williams said the police chiefs in Broward County are asking their communities for patience during this time as they work to hold bad officers accountable for their actions and to educate their officers. “We support our citizens to be one Broward, and with that, a better Broward,” he said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione is aware on Tuesday of the cases of women who say that during a peaceful protest against police brutality they became victims of his officers. After Officer Steven Pohorence pushed Dannielle Casey’s daughter out of the way while she was kneeling, witnesses’ videos show Officer Krystle Smith admonished him. Mother of girl pushed by Fort Lauderdale police officer outraged over unnecessary violencePohorence was relieved of duty pending an investigation, but the other officers are still out there. LaToya Ratleiff, who has a cracked skull on Tuesday, was at that same protest. “The protesters frustration stemmed from a cop kicking a girl in the back without cause,” Ratleiff said.

Since he began working for the police department in October 2016, Pohorence has been reviewed 67 times for using force when stopping or detaining suspects, the files show. In a few incidents, he was described as being present when other officers allegedly used force with suspects. The South Florida Sun Sentinel first reported that Pohorence had been investigated in the past for alleged use of force. The Fort Lauderdale Police department said the Internal Affairs department reviews all complaints, including allegations of excessive force. In this case, all of his instances of use of force were reviewed and found to be within policy, spokeswoman Casey Liening said in an email.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A Fort Lauderdale police officer who is accused of pushing a 19-year-old woman during a protest over the weekend has 71 use of force cases on his personnel file, Local 10 News learned on Wednesday. Officer Steven Pohorence, who has since been suspended, has spent nearly four years with the police department. His personnel file shows an allegation of unnecessary force and false arrest was made, and in another report, a man accused Pohorence of racially profiling him during a traffic stop. Her mother told Local 10 News she was there and witnessed the incident. Meanwhile, another woman who said she was peacefully protesting on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale told Local 10 News that she was struck by a projectile and received 20 stitches.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A South Florida mother is speaking out after her daughter was shoved down by a Fort Lauderdale police officer, despite the fact that the girl was kneeling on the ground at the time. That man, three and a half year veteran of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department Steven Pohorence, has since been suspended with pay. "That officer has been removed from any contact with the public," said Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione. Danielle Casey's 19-year-old daughter was shoved to the ground by a Fort Lauderdale police office while she was on her knees, peacefully protesting. "She stepped out of being an officer into a human, to take action for something that was not right," Casey said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Fort Lauderdale police have identified Steven Pohorence as the officer seen on video shoving a female protester who was kneeling on the ground as tensions rose Sunday night downtown. Pohorence has been a member of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department since October 2016, and prior to that, he spent almost four years working for the Florida Highway Patrol. Fort Lauderdale police will then do an administrative investigation. Fort Lauderdale police said that damage was done to some of their vehicles. Sundays Fort Lauderdale protest got underway peacefully at Huizenga Park, with organizations Black Lives Matter and Dream Defenders bringing the group together at 3 p.m.

Also in Fort Lauderdale, the state attorney's office fired a prosecutor Monday for calling demonstrators animals" at the zoo in a quickly deleted Facebook post. Maglione said Pohorence's actions will be investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement before an internal investigation is conducted. But he said Pohorence's actions could have added to what was going on," and he commended Officer Krystle Smith who pushed Pohorence away from the woman. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said he felt the Pohorences actions were offensive, and hes happy the department has suspended him. ___Associated Press reporters Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami; Freida Frisaro Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida; Tamara Lush in Tampa, Florida; and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.