Officer Trial

LIVE UPDATES: Former trooper testifies, says Rosfeld followed the training he was given

PITTSBURGH — Former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld's trial for shooting and killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose is into its third day Thursday. The commonwealth has rested and Rosfeld took the stand to testify in his own defense.

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UPDATE 10:30 p.m. Thursday: The judge was initially considering a motion to give Trayvon Robertson defense immunity in order for him to testify in the trial.

Rosfeld's attorney was hoping to call Robertson to testify, but through his attorney, Robertson declined, citing the Fifth Amendment.

Late this afternoon, the decision was made that there will be no immunity for Robertson. Robertson is the driver Rosfeld arrested before shooting and killing Antwon Rose.

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UPDATE 7:00 p.m. Thursday: Minutes after court went into recess, Rose's mother asked those who knew him to speak about the young they knew.

"He was always sweet and attentive. He would bend down to the children. He would look down to them and engage them eye to eye, and still one of the sweetest souls I've ever met," Gisele Fetterman said.

UPDATE 6:03 p.m. Thursday: Court has ended for the day following testimony from a use of force expert. The expert, a former state trooper, testified that Rosfeld followed his training. He will be back on the stand Friday for continued cross examination.

“While everyone else has dealt with this as a viral, high profile incident, this is very personal to them. It's making them relive the toughest moment of their lives," Lee Merritt, the Rose family attorney, said.

UPDATE 5:15 p.m. Thursday: Antwon Rose's mother said she feels tired after three days of testimony in Rosfeld's trial. Just before the former officer took the stand on his own behalf, she left the courtroom to get a break.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. Thursday: During 90 minutes of testimony, former East Pittsburgh Police officer Michael Rosfeld described what was going through his head during the traffic stop and subsequent shooting of Antwon Rose.

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Rosfeld said he believed the suspects, Rose and two other people in the car, were armed and dangerous and believed one of them pointed a gun at him.

"They were dangerous felony suspects who just tried to kill someone," he said.

Rosfeld also testified that he didn’t know he hit anyone with the three shots he fired. Rosfeld and another officer found Antwon Rose a short time later.

“I was upset and shocked. I could see the wound on his face. He was moaning, trying to breath," he said.

Click here to see sketches from Day 3 of the Michael Rosfeld trial

UPDATE 1:30 p.m. Thursday: Michael Rosfeld has told the judge he WILL take the stand and testify in his own defense.

Judge Bicket also decided to allow the defense’s motion for acquittal on 2nd degree murder, but rejected it for other counts of murder and manslaughter.

UPDATE 11:55 a.m. Thursday: The prosecution has rested in the Michael Rosfeld trial. The commonwealth's final witness was a video expert with the Allegheny County Police Department who testified there was only one second between the three shots fired at Antwon Rose by Rosfeld.

Download the Channel 11 News app for breaking updates in the trial -- like the one below -- sent straight to your phone.

UPDATE 11:30 a.m. Thursday: A firearms expert and a scientist, both with the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office, testified for the prosecution in the trial of former police Officer Michael Rosfeld.

The firearms expert, Raymond Everett, showed jurors Rosfeld’s gun and two guns recovered from the car Antwon Rose ran from as he was shot to death, offering a detailed explanation of how they work. The explanation included how many bullets could be fired.

During cross-examination, Rosfeld’s attorney, Patrick Thomassey, immediately began asking about the guns recovered from the car Rose was in with Zaijuan Hester, who pleaded guilty to a non-fatal drive-by shooting in North Braddock prior to the traffic stop in East Pittsburgh from which both teenagers ran.

Thomassey pointed out that both guns had extended magazines and could have caused more harm to the public.

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Everett said Hester’s DNA was on a .40-caliber gun from the drive-by shooting. Rose’s DNA was found on a 9 mm gun, but experts said there is no evidence he ever fired it.

Thomassey’s focus then shifted to Rosfeld’s gun. He said it is not unusual -- and should be considered normal -- for a police officer to have one bullet in the chamber ready to go because he/she has to be prepared to react to a threat and protect people at a moment’s notice.

When it came time for the scientist to take the stand, he said a magazine found in Rose’s pocket at the hospital does not match the gun Hester used in the drive-by shooting. The magazine did not have any bullets in it.

ORIGINAL STORY: As former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld's trial for shooting and killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose enters day three Thursday, the commonwealth could soon rest and hand it over to the defense.

It is believed the commonwealth has three or four more witnesses left before it expects to rest.

Reading this in the WPXI News App? Click the + next to the headline to subscribe to alerts for the latest details from this on-going trial.

The focus of day two was primarily how Rosfeld handled himself after pulling the trigger as Rose, who was unarmed, ran from a June traffic stop in East Pittsburgh.

New video of the traffic stop captured by a University of Pittsburgh student who was on his way home from summer classes was shown Wednesday.

Flashing lights can be seen in the video before gunshots are heard.

Neighbors and eyewitnesses testified that Rosfeld was shaking and crying after the shooting, and even questioned why he fired and whether anyone spotted a gun. One witness said other officers had to console Rosfeld.

How quickly the shooting unfolded is crucial in the case.

“Prosecution wants jurors to see and process the events frame-by-frame. In other words, they want this narrative to slow down,” legal analyst, attorney Blaine Jones, said. “Defense, on the other hand, wants things to be seen quickly. If it happens in a split-second, Officer Rosfeld only had a split-second to figure out if the other guy had a gun.”

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The prosecution also brought up weapons found inside the car from which Rose and another teenager, Zaijuan Hester, ran. The car was involved minutes earlier in a drive-by shooting in which Hester was the shooter.

An Allegheny County police detective said there were two guns under the seats of the car. Rose’s DNA was on one and Hester’s was on the other, the detective said.

An expert witness from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office testified that although there was residue on Rose, it didn’t necessarily mean he fired the gun. The reside could have been on Rose because he was near the gun or touched something else with residue on it.

Jurors have heard testimony from nearly 20 witnesses, and while it might seem the trial is moving very quickly, legal experts say it’s actually right on track because there is video evidence.

 

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