Police officer who fatally shot unarmed teen Antwon Rose identified
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Officials in Allegheny County, Penn., have identified the East Pittsburgh police officer who shot and killed an unarmed teen Tuesday night as Michael H. Rosfeld, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting.
Rosfeld was hired by the East Pittsburgh Police Department in mid-May and formally sworn in at a municipal meeting hours before the shooting, Mayor Louis Payne said.
He’d worked in law enforcement for the University of Pittsburgh and for the borough of Oakmont, Penn.
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As of Thursday morning, the officer had still not been interviewed by Allegheny County police, according to the news organization.
Rosfeld had reportedly just been sworn in a few hours prior when he pulled over a car and shot Antwon Rose, 17, three times as Rose ran from the vehicle, according to reports. Cell phone video captured at the scene and published on social media.
Police claim they suspected the vehicle may have been involved in a gunfire exchanged nearby a few minutes before.
In the wake of the fatal police shooting, residents have gathered to protest outside of the East Pittsburgh police department and outside of a county courthouse. The cell phone video of the deadly encounter, in which shots are clearly heard, has gone viral.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala told the Post-Gazette he holding back conclusions until the investigation into the shooting death of Antwon Rose is complete.
“I’ve always addressed these matters publicly, and I’ve gone into great detail to release the facts,” Zappala said.
The district attorney confirmed that Rose was unarmed when he was shot, but did say that a clip of a handgun was in his pants pocket, according to the Post-Gazette.
Fred Rabner, a lawyer for the family of Antwon Rose, called the death a tragedy.
“The facts, while limited, have already revealed that this is yet another senseless act of violence where a police officer sworn to uphold the law and protect its citizens shoots a child indiscriminately and cowardly in the back,” he told the Post-Gazette.
Rose had no previous involvement with the police, the news organization reported.
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