Tag: antwon rose

The jury took fewer than four hours to deliberate.

A white former police officer in Pennsylvania was acquitted on Friday for fatally shooting Antwon Rose II, an unarmed black teenager. Rose, 17, was shot in the back by then-East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld while fleeing from a traffic stop last June.

Rosewas sitting in the passenger seat of an unlicensed taxicab when Rosfeld pulled him and another teen, Zaijuan Hester, over. The car matched the description of a vehicle involved in a drive-by shooting that had occurred just minutes earlier. Once stopped, Rose and Hesterquickly bolted from the car. Rosfeld then opened fire and shot Rose three times in his back, arm, and face.

Rosfeld, who had been sworn in as a rookie officer with the East Pittsburgh Police Department only hours before the shooting, was charged with criminal homicide in Rose’s death. A police affidavit used to charge Rosfeld showed that the officer had givenconflicting statements to investigators over the course of interviews with detectives. In an initial interview, Rosfeld suggested Rose may have been carrying something resembling a gun when he shot the teenager, but when detectives followed up, Rosfeld clarified that he did not see whether or not Rose was armed.

On Friday, however, a jury acquitted Rosfeld of all counts in a deliberation that took fewer than four hours. District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., who tried the case in Allegheny County, said in a statement that he disagreed with the verdict but respected the jury’s decision.

“In the interest of justice, we must continue to do our job of bringing charges in situations where charges are appropriate, regardless of the role an individual holds in the community,” Zappala said.

Rose’s family on Friday condemned the verdict. “I hope that man never sleeps at night,” the teen’s mother, mother, Michelle Kenney, said according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I hope he gets as much sleep as I do, which is none.”

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