Law enforcement agencies preparing for Rosfeld trial
Law enforcement around Allegheny County has been gearing up for months for the Tuesday start of the criminal homicide trial of Michael Rosfeld, the former East Pittsburgh police officer accused of criminal homicide in the June 19 shooting death of Antwon Rose II.
Although neither Pittsburgh nor county police will discuss extensively their preparation for any demonstrations that might come with the highly anticipated trial, they have been meeting regularly with city leaders, analysts and even those in the business community about what to expect.
Mr. Rosfeld is charged with homicide in the on-duty shooting death of the 17-year-old Antwon, who was unarmed and running away when Mr. Rosfeld shot him. The shooting was captured on video by a bystander and prompted weeks of protests in Pittsburgh and in East Pittsburgh.
Kevin Kraus, the chief deputy in the Allegheny County Sheriff’s office, which is responsible for security inside the courthouse on Grant Street, expects that the trial will draw a large crowd.
Outside of that, he said, “We, honestly, don’t have any expectations.”
The scenarios they have planned for, Chief Kraus continued, range from a completely uneventful trial to the worst case, where there is violence and rioting.
“It’s hard to predict exactly what’s going to happen,” he said. “You have to be prepared for the worst in the interest of safety of our deputies, our community and the property we’re tasked to protect.”
As the trial approached, local organizers put out calls on social media for people to support the Rose family by attending the trial, donating money or meals to the family, or providing transportation to and from the courthouse for both the family and their supporters.
Mr. Rosfeld’s trial will include a main courtroom where the jury of six men and six women, along with three alternates — will listen to evidence. That courtroom seats about 50 spectators.
An overflow room that can hold more than 100 people will be provided.
Both courtrooms will have separate metal detectors for screening spectators — in addition to going through security upon entering the courthouse.
On Wednesday, city officials announced that sections of Grant Street, Forbes and Fifth avenues and Ross Street, adjacent to the courthouse, will be closed to vehicular traffic while the trial is in session. Sidewalks, however, will remain open.
The sheriff’s office started planning for the trial in August. Included in that work was ongoing training in crowd control and crowd management, as well as the purchasing of all new protective equipment — riot gear — for every one of the department’s 169 sworn deputies.
David Klinger, a former Los Angeles police officer and professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri, said area officers need to be prepared for a wide variety of tactical responses after the verdict.
“If you let something start to spin out of control, it will continue to spin,” he said. “That’s why it is important to let police properly manage things. On the other hand, if police overreact, that can lead to further problems. The police have to walk this fine line of giving people the freedom and space to be expressive and using the appropriate control mechanisms to take people into custody if they cross the line, without being heavy-handed.”
Unlawful activity like destroying property, blocking roadways, encroaching on private property or physical violence needs to be stopped immediately, Mr. Klinger said. Police leadership should ensure that officers understand the right way to disperse a crowd, he added.
“Hopefully, the police will early on set the tone that you are allowed to protest peacefully, but if you cross these lines then we will arrest you,” he said. “[They need to] make sure they have appropriate plans in place to disperse an unlawful assembly. They have to make an announcement, and they have to give people exit routes once an announcement is made. They have to give people time to disperse but move forcefully if they decide not to disperse.”
The planning for the event extends beyond the tactical aspects to more routine concerns like ensuring that officers have access to food, water and a place to rest, he added.
Coordinating Pittsburgh’s response with other local police departments, the sheriff’s office and state police is also critical, Mr. Klinger said, to ensure that there is a clear, unified command and response even when the city relies on mutual aid.
“There is a lot of planning that has to go into making sure the police have the capacity for dealing with potential civil unrest,” he said.
He added that explaining police actions to the public can help maintain calm.
“Another thing police have to be able to do is explain their actions,” he said. “When they talk to [journalists], they need to be able to articulate, ‘Here is what was happening, here is what we did and here is why we did it.’”
Pittsburgh police spokesman Chris Togneri declined to detail what preparations the department has made ahead of the trial, except to say officers have prepared as they would for any other major event.
He would not discuss what, if any, training the department has conducted, what levels of staffing it will use or what agencies might be assisting.
“In terms of preparations [and] training, the focus has and will continue to be respecting people’s First Amendment rights,” Mr. Togneri said. “That was our guiding principle in the summer, and it will continue to be so moving forward.”