A Florida police officer pushed a kneeling protester to the ground. Then his black colleague stepped in - CNN

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department confirmed to CNN that Officer Steven Pohorence was relieved of duty and placed on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation into the incident.

"She was upset that she had to witness that."

Police and local officials commended Smith for her actions in two separate news conferences Monday, but said the incident occurred when tensions were already high between demonstrators and police.

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione said the incident occurred about an hour after the main protest ended, when one officer told her colleagues she was surrounded and felt threatened, and another officer who was in her vehicle said she came under attack.

Still, local school board official Rosalind Osgood thanked Smith for taking actions "to check her colleague" when he acted "out of the norm," and Maglione commended "the other officers that were there for identifying that there was an issue rather quickly."

The police chief said the officer will "remain home" until the Florida Department of Law Enforcement completes its investigation.