Upcoming Rosfeld homicide trial will be closely watched
Guilty or not, the verdict in the upcoming trial of the former East Pittsburgh police officer accused of killing Antwon Rose II in June, experts say, will have an enduring impact on race and police relations in the Pittsburgh area.
“It’s one of those cases that no matter what way it goes, it will be long lasting,” said Sala Udin, a Freedom Rider during the civil rights movement and former Pittsburgh councilman.
Michael Rosfeld, 30, who is white, is accused of fatally shooting Antwon, a black 17-year-old, as he fled from a felony traffic stop the evening of June 19.
Mr. Rosfeld’s trial will begin Tuesday with opening statements in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court before Judge Alexander P. Bicket. The jury of six
men and six women were selected in Dauphin County because of pretrial publicity. They will be bused to Pittsburgh on Monday.
Almost since it occurred, Antwon’s death, captured on grainy cellphone video, has highlighted the issue of race and police relations in Pittsburgh — an all-too-common topic across the country in recent years.
As the trial begins, the question of what the verdict will be is almost subsumed by another question: What will be the fallout from the verdict?
Quick turnaround
Mr. Rosfeld was charged by the Allegheny County district attorney’s office eight days after the shooting — a quick turnaround for cases like this, said David A. Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh,
Before then, it was often the case that if a law enforcement officer were involved in a fatal shooting, the investigation would be “slowwalked,” Mr. Harris said, and 18 months later, prosecutors would announce quietly that no charges would be filed.
“Now, there’s a much more intense focus, and investigations are done quickly,” he said. “People are not turning away from it.”
Instead of being viewed individually, these shootings, Mr. Harris continued, are now being viewed as part of a larger national narrative — police shooting civilians, often people of color, and mostly young men.
“To say this is a major issue between black people and police is a major understatement,” Mr. Harris said. “This case cannot help but be seen in that broader context.
“This case fits into the continuing narrative we’ve seen since Ferguson, [Missouri] in 2014.”
‘One match’
Following Antwon’s death, there were weeks of protests and demonstrations. Some demanded that charges be filed and others simply raised awareness.
Demonstrators read a poem written by Antwon, and they demanded acknowledgment from governmental leaders of the broader issue of race relations with law enforcement.
They shut down highways Downtown at rush hour and drew hundreds of supporters.
Similar demonstrations are anticipated around Mr. Rosfeld’s trial, even though Antwon’s mother, Michelle Kenney, asked the community last week not to protest during the proceedings.
Law enforcement agencies across the region have been planning for months, with some even ordering new riot gear in anticipation of a verdict.
“It’s like there’s gas already over the city of Pittsburgh, and it just takes one match to blow it up,” said Amber Sloan, a local activist who has become friends with Ms. Kenney, since the shooting. “I’m praying. I pray for my city.”
The level of volatility surrounding the case, Mr. Harris said, isn’t surprising.
“People have to understand the historical roots of the dissatisfaction the people of color in Pittsburgh feel from being overly policed for decades,” Mr. Harris said.
Mr. Udin said that Antwon’s death has gotten the people of Pittsburgh to re-examine race relations with law enforcement in a broader way.
“From time to time, there are seminal cases that have a much further-reaching importance than others,” Mr. Udin said. “This case got the attention of the entire community.”
What he hopes might come from it is a message to the black community “that justice is blind, and we can get a fair shake in the criminal justice system.”
If there’s a conviction, he
continued, it will show that the system can work.
“A lack of a conviction will show the opposite message — that things have not changed, that it’s impossible for black males to get a fair shake.”
But he also continued, “this would not be the first time there is not a conviction.”
Looking for justice
Parallels have been drawn by some between Antwon’s death and the 1995 death of Jonny Gammage, who was stopped for driving erratically on Route 51 in Brentwood.
Mr. Gammage died of asphyxiation during a confrontation with five suburban officers.
Three of them were charged with involuntary manslaughter. None was convicted.
Mr. Udin cautioned that the circumstances of Mr. Gammage’s death were more “cut and dried” than they are for Antwon’s. Mr. Harris agreed. “This case is far more ambiguous than I think people are understanding [with regard to] proving intent for homicide and how it will fit into existing law,” he said. “The end result may end up disappointing a lot of people.”
Mr. Harris noted that the jury will have to weigh what a “reasonable, objective officer” would do when making a split-second decision.
Too, jurors often tend to support law enforcement; they look at them as the good guys, he said.
“It’s very hard to get them to understand the police may have done something very wrong.”
Lastly, Mr. Harris continued, the evidence itself could make getting a conviction difficult.
Mr. Rosfeld’s defense attorney will argue that his client knew the car he was pulling over had been suspected in a drive-by shooting just 13 minutes earlier. He believed the car he pulled over contained people who had just fired nine shots on a street corner in North Braddock.
“In that kind of mindset, it’s not unreasonable for the police to believe these folks are armed and just shot somebody and could shoot at more,” Mr. Harris said. “I’m not saying I’d buy it, but I expect the defense to be hardfought and vigorous.
“People are looking for justice to this case, and it just may not provide that.”
Ms. Sloan, who will accompany Antwon’s mother to court, recognizes that.
“You can never get justice, even if he’s convicted, because your loved one doesn’t come back,” she said. “It’s an illusion.”
A step forward
Ms. Sloan said that Antwon’s mother does not anticipate a first-degree murder conviction, which would require a jury to believe the shooting was premeditated.
“He didn’t preplan this. That officer didn’t know,” she said.
Ms. Kenney is not allowed to discuss the case because of a gag order imposed by the court.
Whatever the verdict, Ms. Sloan said Ms. Kenney is “trying to get herself all right with it either way.
“Either way it goes, this is going to change history in Pittsburgh,” she said. “If he’s guilty, I believe this police brutality stuff will calm down.
“It’ll change the way the police engage with the community. I think it will make officers think twice.”
Although Mr. Harris sees even the initial filing of a criminal charge against Mr. Rosfeld as a step forward, he does not believe that that, alone, is enough.
“What actually happens in the trial — what the verdict is — will communicate a very strong message. It will either move the city in the direction of improving past harms, or it will be seen as a setback.” Mr. Udin agreed. “Either way the case goes, it’s a continuation of the same kind of questions raised every time a black male sees that red and blue light flashing in the mirror,” Mr. Udin said. “We have quite a ways still to go.”
But, he continued, “I am hopeful.
“Even if there is a disruption of some kind, we will eventually get back to normal life and continue to fight and struggle for democracy and justice.”