E. Pittsburgh officer charged in death of unarmed black teen
PITTSBURGH — A white police officer was charged Wednesday with homicide in the death of an unarmed black teenager who was shot in the back while fleeing a traffic stop, a shooting that has fueled daily protests around Pittsburgh.
Prosecutors cited officer Michael Rosfeld’s inconsistent statements about whether he saw a gun in the teen’s hand.
The officer first told investigators the teen turned his hand toward him when he ran from the car and the officer “saw something dark he perceived as a gun,” according to the criminal complaint.
During a second recap of last week’s shooting, Rosfeld told investigators he did not see a gun and he was not sure if the teen’s arm was pointed at him when he fired at Antwon Rose Jr., 17.
The 30-year-old officer had been sworn in just hours before the June 19 shooting in East Pittsburgh, a small town near the city, after working at the police department for a couple of weeks. After being charged, he turned himself in and was released on $250,000 bail.
Criminal homicide is a broad category that includes manslaughter and murder.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said his office planned to ask a jury to consider the highest charge of first-degree murder. He argued against releasing Rosfeld on bail.
“You do not shoot someone in the back if they are not a threat to you,” Zappala said.
The car Rose was in had been stopped on suspicion of involvement in a drive-by shooting. But investigators determined Rose had done nothing “except be in the car,” he said.
Zappala said witnesses described Rose as showing his hands before the shooting, stressing that he did not have a weapon.
Asked by reporters if he saw anything in Rosfeld’s past employment records that raised concerns, Zappala said yes but declined to elaborate.
Philip Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who has been tracking police shootings and officer conduct for more than a decade, said he was not surprised that Rosfeld was charged so quickly.
Unlike other states, Pennsylvania does not require an indictment from a grand jury before the district attorney can charge someone, but Stinson said other factors likely played a role in quickly bringing charges, including corroborating witnesses and bystander video released on social media.
Stinson said Rosfeld is the 87th non-federal officer charged with manslaughter or murder for an on-duty fatal shooting in the U.S. since the beginning of 2005. Of those charged, 32 have been convicted, 41 have been acquitted and 14 cases are pending.