PITTSBURGH (AP) — A jury on Friday acquitted a white former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in the back as he was fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh, a confrontation that was captured on video and led to weeks of unrest.
Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting Antwon Rose II during a traffic stop last June. Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that had been involved in a drive-by shooting when Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot the 17-year-old in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran away.
The panel of seven men and five women — including three black jurors — saw video of the fatal confrontation, which showed Rose falling to the ground after being hit. The acquittal came after fewer than four hours of deliberations on the fourth day of the trial.
The Rose family’s attorney, S. Lee Merritt, had urged a murder conviction, saying before closing arguments it’s “pretty obvious” Rose was not a threat to Rosfeld.
Rose’s death — one of many high-profile killings of black men and teens by white police officers in recent years — spurred protests in the Pittsburgh area last year, including a late-night march that shut down a major highway.
On Friday, Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi declared in his closing argument Rosfeld had acted as “judge, jury and executioner,”
But the former officer told a jury he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun, insisting he fired his weapon to protect himself and the community.
At trial, the prosecution and the defense sparred over whether Rosfeld — who’d worked for the East Pittsburgh Police Department for only a few weeks and was officially sworn in just hours before the fatal shooting — was justified in using lethal force.
Prosecutors said Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose was armed.
The video evidence showed “there was no threat” to the officer, Fodi said in his closing.
“We don’t shoot first and ask questions later,” the prosecutor added.
A defense expert testified Rosfeld was within his rights to use deadly force to stop suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting. Rosfeld told the jury he thought Rose or the other passenger had pointed a weapon at him. Neither teen was holding one when Rosfeld opened fire, though two guns were later found in the car.
“It happened very quickly,” Rosfeld said. “My intent was to end the threat that was made against me.”
Prosecutors charged Rosfeld with an open count of homicide, meaning the jury had the option of convicting him of murder or manslaughter. The defense asked Judge Alexander Bicket to acquit Rosfeld of all charges, but the judge declined.
Rose had been riding in the front seat of the cab when another occupant, Zaijuan Hester, in the back, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. A few minutes later, Rosfeld spotted their car, which had its rear windshield shot out, and pulled it over. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger jumped out and began running away. Rosfeld fired three times in quick succession.
The defense said the shooting was justified because Rosfeld believed he was in danger and couldn’t wait for other officers to get there.
“He’s a sitting duck,” defense attorney Patrick Thomassey told jurors in his closing argument, asking them to consider “the standard of what a reasonable police officer would do under the circumstances.”
Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. Hester told a judge that he, not Rose, did the shooting.