FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The verdict came late. For Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Steven Pohorence, it came very late — more than two years after he was accused of brutality, knocking over a kneeling protester who had her hands up during a Black Lives Matter rally following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
For Broward County, the May 31, 2020, encounter was quickly overshadowed by another, one involving an officer who fired a rubber bullet that struck another peaceful protester in the face. As the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum across the country, accountability was coming to Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione was not spared — he was ousted within two months.
But in some of the highest-profile cases, the zeal to send a message to law enforcement was not shared by the citizens who sat on juries.
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