Antwon Rose Jr.

Antwon Rose II was a 17-year-old African-American who was fatally shot in East Pittsburgh on June 19, 2018, by police officer Michael Rosfeld after being suspected of attempted murder by participating in a drive-by shooting.

According to the police report, Rose had an empty handgun magazine in his pocket and gunshot residue on his hand.

Allegheny County Medical Examiner Daniel Wolfe said the residue was likely the result of Rose firing a gun.

He was transported to UPMC where he was later declared deceased.

Following the shooting, Rosfeld was acquitted on all counts.

On Tuesday June 19, 2018, there was a drive-by shooting in North Braddock around 8:30 p.m. 10 minutes later, police stopped a car matching witness descriptions of the silver Chevrolet Cruze used in the drive-by shooting.

The police observed bullet holes on the side of the car.

A video recording taken by a bystander shows police ordering the driver to step out from the car.

While the driver was being handcuffed, Rose and the third occupant, Zaijuan Hester, ran from the car.

Rosfeld fired three rounds, and Rose was struck by all three.

He was pronounced dead at McKeesport Hospital.

In the video, a woman's voice is heard saying, "Why they shooting at him? All they did was run, and they shooting at them."[sic] Police said that Rose had been unarmed when he was shot.

Hester escaped, but was later arrested.

Hester was charged with the drive by shooting.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published video footage showing Rose in the front passenger seat of a Chevrolet Cruze, while Hester fired through the rear window behind him.

Hester was arrested on June 26, 2018 and detained at the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center.

Police stated that Hester had been on juvenile probation and had cut his ankle bracelet.

On October 25, 2019, Rosfeld and East Pittsburgh settled a civil lawsuit over Rose's death for $2 million.

Rose was 17 years old when he died.

He had worked as a community volunteer and was a student at Woodland Hills High School, where he took Advanced Placement classes.

According to the family attorney, Rose had no significant criminal record prior to his death.

His mother had been a clerk for another police department.

His maternal grandfather had been a police officer for more than 35 years in a different jurisdiction.

Rosfeld, the officer involved in this shooting, had been sworn in to the East Pittsburgh Police Department only a few hours before the shooting, and trained with the department for three weeks prior.

He had seven years experience with other police departments, including those in the Pennsylvania towns of Oakmont and Harmar, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Rosfeld left the University of Pittsburgh “after discrepancies were found between one of his sworn statements and evidence in an arrest.“

Contradicting that video evidence, drive-by victim William Ross told investigators on January 17, 2019 that Rose was in fact the individual who had shot him: "The beef was between me and him, that car came by, he shot me, I ran to the store."

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala stated that Rose had an empty 9-millimeter handgun magazine in his pocket, and officials stated there were two guns in the car, a 9-millimeter handgun and a .40-caliber handgun.

According to police, Hester had fired the .40-caliber handgun.

Trial testimony from a scientist at the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office showed that Rose had gunshot residue on his hands at the time he was shot and his DNA was found on the 9mm pistol found under the passenger seat.

Allegheny County Medical Examiner Daniel Wolfe said the residue didn't necessarily mean Rose fired a gun, though it is likely he did.

During the trial, Rosfeld's attorney additionally claimed that Rose had stolen one of the handguns found in the car during an armed robbery of his employer just hours before he was shot.

However, this was ruled inadmissible by Judge Alexander Bicket, as information regarding the gun theft was unknown to Rosfeld when he conducted the felony traffic stop.

Rosfeld was placed on leave and the Allegheny County Police Department began an investigation.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office later classified Rose's death as a homicide and said that Rose died of a gunshot wound to the torso.

On June 26, Rosfeld was arrested and charged with criminal homicide, after detectives stated that there were inconsistencies in the officer's testimony.

Rosfeld was released on bail by the district judges overseeing the case and according to authorities appeared remorseful during interviews.

Rosfeld was charged with criminal homicide, was arraigned, and had unsecured bail set at $250,000.

His trial began on March 19, 2019 and concluded on March 22, 2019.

Rosfeld was found not guilty of criminal homicide.