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East Pittsburgh Officer Charged With Criminal Homicide In Antwon Rose Shooting

(CNN) — The Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, district attorney charged East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld with criminal homicide on Wednesday i...
Antwon Rose

(CNN) — The Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, district attorney charged East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld with criminal homicide on Wednesday in the shooting death of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II, court records show.

The severity of the charge was not immediately clear. Under Pennsylvania law, criminal homicide includes murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. The latter is often a misdemeanor.

Rosfeld’s bail was set at $250,000. A preliminary hearing is set for July 6. It was not immediately clear if the officer had obtained representation. He did not request a public defender, according to the court records.

“This is a small stride toward justice but we have a very long road ahead,” Rose family attorney Lee Merritt tweeted.

Rosfeld, 30, shot Antwon three times June 19 as he fled a car after a traffic stop. According to Allegheny County police, Antwon was a passenger in a car that authorities suspected of being involved in an earlier shooting in nearby North Braddock.

The East Pittsburgh officer pulled the car over and ordered the driver out of the car and onto the ground, police said. Antwon and another passenger “bolted” from the vehicle, and Rosfeld opened fire, striking the teenager, police said.

The driver was questioned and released. The other passenger, a juvenile, was arrested on separate charges and is expected to be charged in the North Braddock shooting, Allegheny County police spokeswoman Amie Downs said Tuesday. No further information was provided.

Rosfeld had been sworn in to the East Pittsburgh police force just hours before the shooting, though he’d worked with other local departments for seven years, CNN affiliate WPXI reported.

The youth’s death has sparked protests in Pittsburgh, a 15-minute drive west of East Pittsburgh. The teen was laid to rest Monday.

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