‘ … Long before you were a cause, you were my friend’
Antwon Rose II eulogized by family, teacher, classmates
Until last week, Mian Laubscher talked with his friend Antwon Rose II nearly every day.
The teens went to concerts together, played pickup basketball and swapped good-hearted jokes at the other’s expense. Antwon admired Mian’s swimming prowess but teased him about the Speedo he wore at competitions.
The two spent so much time together, Antwon would often have to return to Mian’s house to pick up belongings he had forgotten. His toothbrush is still there, Mian told mourners at Antwon’s funeral Monday.
“It’s as if I’m just waiting for you to come pick it up,” he said.
Several hundred people packed the seats and outer aisles of the auditorium at Woodland Hills Intermediate School in Swissvale Monday morning to celebrate Antwon’s life and take inventory of the void his death has left.
Amid the storm of controversy, protests, anger and calls for justice, the funeral took place on an island of sadness and quiet, as speakers preached the need for peace and unity.
As mourners entered the auditorium, family and friends touched his coffin, which rested alongside flowers and portraits of Antwon.
Speakers reflected on the life and impact of the 17-year-old from Rankin, who was killed last week during a traffic stop in East Pittsburgh after he ran from a vehicle that officials say matched the description of one involved minutes earlier in a shooting in North Braddock. The shooting of Antwon by an East Pittsburgh police officer sparked days of demonstrations and protests. Protesters said they would not march Sunday and Monday out of respect for the family.
During his remarks, Mian marveled at the attention
Antwon’s death has received and said he refuses to allow him to be portrayed as a “stereotype.”
“Antwon, your name has now become associated with a cause, and it is an important cause, one that we should all commit to passionately,” he said. “But long before you were a cause, you were my friend.”
Tre Hanis said he met Antwon in the seventhgrade at Woodland Hills Intermediate. The friends went on trips together, bonding over skiing, snowboarding and skating. They talked about traveling to Vermont someday.
“Just one more day with him,” he said. “That’s all I ask for.” Tre told Antwon’s mother he loved her and vowed to lead a positive life in her son’s honor.
He then responded to a poem Antwon wrote in 2016 — titled “I Am Not What You Think!” — that was printed on the funeral program and on a painting of Antwon displayed near his coffin.
“I know who you are, Antwon,” Tre said. “A brave, fearless friend who’s changed the lives of others around the world today. We love you, Antwon.”
Erin Wall, Antwon’s 11thgrade Advanced Placement English teacher, remembered him as a student whose ubiquitous grin “took the darkness out of the room.” Since Antwon’s death, she said, she sees his smile when she tries to sleep.
Ms. Wall hopes someday “the image of his goofy grin will let me fall asleep knowing that I loved him enough, that his image will never leave my soul,” she said, surrounded onstage by nearly a dozen of his former classmates.
Victor Muhammad, of Muhammad Mosque No. 22 in Wilkinsburg, characterized Antwon’s death as unjust but suggested the backlash could drive social changes that promote “justice for all” — an impact the teen likely could not have imagined, he said.
“He didn’t know that [rapper] Nas would be talking about him, that Nas would have his name on his chest,” Mr. Muhammad said, also mentioning other rappers. “He didn’t know that Kanye and T.I., and all of them, wouldbe talking about him.”
Leon Ford Jr. — who was shot and paralyzed by a Pittsburgh police detective in 2012, resulting in a $5.5 million settlement with the city — delivered the eulogy. Mr. Ford said he envisions Antwon’s peers as the future powerbrokers of the city and beyond, paving the way for a more peaceful, just world.
“We don’t have to wait for someone to save us,” he said. “We will educate ourselves. We will be fearless. We will be organized and we will unite.”
Mr. Ford encouraged attendees to “live for Antwon,” who fell victim to a “chaotic world that he didn’t understand.”
Near the end of the service, Pastor Nathaniel Carter asked the black men in the auditorium to stand up and he led a prayer on their behalf. Then he did the same for the black women present. Then for the white attendees.
“Hold your neighbor’s hand next to you,” he said. “We are unified.”
Allegheny County Police are investigating the actions of Officer Michael Rosfeld, 30, who was hired by East Pittsburgh in mid-May and sworn in just hours before the shooting. He previously worked as a police officer at the University of Pittsburgh but left after authorities discovered discrepancies between the officer’s sworn statement and evidence in an arrest.
On Monday, the Pittsburgh Black Elected Officials Coalition called on Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. to take immediate action.
Mr. Zappala is reviewing the case to decide whether to file charges against the officer.
“We are hurting, and our community is hurting,” said a statement released by PBEOC, the leadership group that includes state Reps. Jake Wheatley Jr., Ed Gainey and Austin Davis; Allegheny County Councilman DeWitt Walton; and Pittsburgh City Councilmen the Rev. Ricky Burgess and R. Daniel Lavelle. “The pain and trauma we all feel may not leave our souls any time soon. But the healing process can only begin when Antwon, his family, and the community get justice.
“The PBEOC believes the district attorney’s office should immediately bring charges against Officer Rosfeld. Officer Michael Rosfeld took the judicial system into his own hands when he ended Antwon’s life. A fair and impartial jury, representative of the community, now deserves an opportunity to assess Officer Rosfeld’s actions and deliver a verdict.”
Some of those departing Antwon’s service had more to say about the teen.
“He was a good person, a good student, he loved his family, as we loved him,” said Missy Carter, who identified herself as Antwon’s cousin. “And justice will be served.”
Kyle Fogarty, 17, said Antwon was a good friend of his brother’s and a year ahead of him at Woodland Hills High School.
“All I could ever see was a smile on his face … no matter what he was going through, no matter what issue he was having. He always had a smile on his face.”
Kyle said Antwon’s funeral was touching.
“Everyone was celebrating his life. No one wants to be depressed that he’s gone, everyone just wants to celebrate what he did while he was here. And we’re celebrating what he’s doing now, the movement that he’s created. We didn’t want this to be the way he was a trending topic. He was such a good person,” he said after the service.
“It was an overwhelming, just bombardment of positive stories and positiveness from kids of all races,” said Ayodeji Young. “White, black, Asian — they all had positive stories to speak on about this young man and how great he was and the things that he did in school. He was a really, really, really bright young man. That’s why it’s confusing as to why any other narrative would be out there.”