FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A white Florida police officer was charged with battery Tuesday for allegedly shoving a kneeling Black woman to the ground during a protest march last month, prosecutors said. Broward State Attorney Mike Satz said Fort Lauderdale Officer Steven Pohorence, 29, was seen intentionally touching or striking the 19-year-old woman during a civil rights protest march on May 31. The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Pohorence was previously suspended with pay by the Fort Lauderdale police chief but as a result of the battery charge decision, his status will be changed to administrative leave without pay. The union representing Fort Lauderdale officers has declined comment.

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.

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.