Two men marching in protest for the fatal East Pittsburgh police shooting of unarmed teenager Antwon Rose II were arrested after reportedly attacking a driver last week.
—Protestors rally in support of NFL players right to kneel at Atlanta park—
Ahmad Abu Ibrahim of Monroeville and Jason Lamonte Nunley of Pittsburgh were criminally charged on Friday. Ibrahim was charged with simple assault and Nunley was charged with theft by unlawful taking, according to a criminal complaint.
The victim alleged that during the downtown protest, demonstrators surrounded his vehicle and started hitting it as he tried to enter an intersection. Ibrahim was caught on video opening the man’s door and punching him. Nunley was seen removing the man’s car keys from his truck and he then threw them in a sewer, according to Pittsburgh Public Information Officer Chris Togneri. Nunley is also accused to hitting the victim on the arm.
“Everybody was hitting the truck with fists,” the victim wrote in his statement to police.
The victim was escorted by police to their Centre Avenue station and released.
The city-wide protests continue in Pittsburgh to bring attention to Rose’s death on June 19 days following and the arrest of Officer Michael H. Rosfeld who was charged with criminal homicide.
Protestors have called for Rosfeld to return to jail and want the judge to remand him behind bars after he was released on $250,000 bond. He was also ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Police and state lawmakers alike agree that state laws need to be updated in the wake of Rose’s death.