New details starting to emerge in fatal police shooting of 17-year-old

PITTSBURGH — Protesters stopped traffic tonight in Pittsburgh. They’ve been marching in the streets this week over the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose.

Now, more details surrounding the controversial shooting Tuesday night are starting to emerge. We know the 30-year-old officer’s name, Michael Rosfeld. He was previously an officer in other departments before joining the East Pittsburgh department. He was sworn in less than two hours before the deadly encounter. 

It all started when Rose jumped out of a silver Chevrolet that was suspected of being used in a drive-by shooting.  Thirteen minutes later, Rose was shot three times by Rosfeld and later died. 

On Friday, the district attorney confirmed Rose was unarmed but did have an empty 9-millimeter handgun clip in his pocket, and two handguns were found in the car.

CBS Pittsburgh

Rosfeld’s attorney, Patrick Thomassey, said his client is “depressed and feels bad about what happened and that it was his first time ever firing his weapon as a police officer.”

“He just ran — running is not a death sentence,” said one witness. 
 
The video has sparked days of protests, many calling the shooting unjustified.
 
A three decade-old Supreme Court ruling does justify shooting a fleeing suspect if “the officer reasonably believes that the individual poses a significant physical danger to the officer or others in the community.”
 
Roses’ family attorney Lee Merritt said the family “are going through the highs and lows that is common to this kind of situation from disbelief to anger to determination to get justice.”

The officer is expected to be interviewed by the district attorney as soon as Friday. And a GoFundMe page has raised over $25,000 for Rose’s funeral, which will be held Monday.