A Pennsylvania police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager has been charged with criminal homicide.
East Pittsburgh Officer Michael Rosfeld, 30, turned himself into authorities this morning and is currently free after posting $250,000 bond, his attorney said. Antwon Rose II, 17, was shot three times by Rosfeld in East Pittsburgh as he ran from the vehicle. Rosfeld had been sworn into the police department just a few hours prior to the incident.
“The family views the indictment with guarded optimism. We realize that conviction is a long road ahead and it will require our continued advocacy on behalf of Antwon,” said Lee Merritt, family attorney for Antwon Rose’s family, in a statement. “We echo the sentiments that this officer with a history of violence and a history of manipulating evidence to obscure his violence at previous jobs, there should have been safeguards in place to ensure that he wasn’t hired in the first place. Although it feels like we are moving in the direction of justice, the kind of evidence that existed at the time of the shooting, this is justice delayed for the family.”
Rosfeld has been on administrative leave since the shooting occurred.
