Officer Trial

Testimony wraps for day 2 of the Michael Rosfeld trial

PITTSBURGH — The trial for former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld entered day two Wednesday, following an emotional first day of testimony.

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UPDATE 6:04 p.m. Wednesday: Testimony has completed for the day and will resume Thursday morning. For a full recap of what the jury saw and heard today, download the WPXI Now App and watch for a live report and legal analysis at 7 p.m.

WATCH A FULL RECAP OF DAY 2 HERE.

UPDATE 5:10 p.m. Wednesday: New video was introduced during the trial showing a different angle of the shooting. The video was recorded by a Pitt football player who happened to be driving by during the traffic stop that night and recorded it on his phone.

Several witnesses testified that Rosfeld kept repeating the same phrases to himself including "I don't know why I fired," "Why did he take that out of his pocket" and "Why did he run?"

UPDATE 3:15 p.m. Wednesday: Several police officers who responded to the shooting scene testified this afternoon, including former East Pgh Officer Brian Neff who pulled up to the scene as Rose and Hester ran away. He testified moments later Rosfeld fired the shots.

UPDATE 10:50 a.m. Wednesday: Questions raised about the gag order in place for Michael Rosfeld's trial delayed the start of the second day of testimony Wednesday.

Rosfeld’s attorney, Patrick Thomassey, argued Antwon Rose’s family violated the gag order when their attorney, Lee Merritt, spoke to the media Tuesday night.

Judge Alexander Bicket listened to Thomassey’s argument that the gag order should be lifted and the Rosfeld family allowed to talk, but he ultimately denied the request.

Bicket asked the jurors and others in the courtroom to use their discretion.

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Testimony began with a University of Pittsburgh student who took video of the traffic stop that ended with Rosfeld fatally shooting Rose as the 17-year-old ran. He said he believes he heard three gunshots.

The defense asked the witness during cross-examination what he could see, and he admitted he couldn’t see anything in his video. He was also asked why he was interviewed by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office a full eight months after the shooting.

The second witness to take the stand was on his front porch smoking when he saw police lights the night of the shooting in June.

He said Rose’s hands went up and he figured he was putting his hands on top of the car.

“It was like immediately as he turned around the shot went out. I heard three,” the witness said.

After the shooting, he said he walked toward the scene and could see Rosfeld’s reaction to what had happened.

“He was panicking because he kept repeating the same thing over and over: ‘I don’t know why I shot him,’” the witness described. “They were consoling him. He was crying … It looked like he was about to pass out. He wasn’t carrying his own body weight.”

UPDATE 7:45 a.m. Wednesday: Channel 11 News has obtained a letter from Antwon Rose's mother, Michelle Kenney, to the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office.

The letter, dated March 19, sheds light on who Rose was. Kenney said members of the jury “deserve to know the real him.”

In part, the letter says:

"Please remember what everyone in the community that knew Antwon had to say about him. As I sit through the trial and the defense discusses the dangers of the community where Antwon lived and the criminal element all around him -- even the allegations of criminal involvement on the day he was killed -- I am reminded just how unique he was. He was a rose that grew from concrete. Despite darkness all around him he was kind, loving and funny. The smile that emanates from his pictures really reflects who he was."

ORIGINAL STORY: The trial for former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld enters day two Wednesday, following an emotional first day of testimony.

Day one focused heavily on the shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose, whom Rosfeld shot to death after he ran from a traffic stop in East Pittsburgh. He was unarmed.

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Cellphone video captured the shooting, but jurors are left to decide whether it was justified.

A play-by-play of the June shooting and graphic details of Rose’s death were revealed Tuesday in the courtroom at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh.

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Rose’s mother was visibly shaken by Tuesday’s testimony, at one point crying and having to leave the courtroom before autopsy photos of her son were shown.

Rosfeld’s leg shook nonstop at various points during the day.

A homicide detective who responded to the shooting was among those who took the stand Tuesday. He said he could not remember exact measurements from the site of the shooting and a witness’s home, and the defense asked why it took so long to take daytime photos of the scene.

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Another witness told jurors Rosfeld had his gun drawn as soon as he got out of his police car during the traffic stop, which stemmed from a drive-by shooting minutes earlier in North Braddock. The drive-by shooter, Zaijuan Hester, was in the car with Rose.

The witness said Rosfeld began shooting immediately as Rose and Hester ran from the area. She said she saw Rosfeld crying after the shooting.

The defense questioned the same witness about how much alcohol she had consumed that night. She said she didn’t start drinking until after the shooting happened.

 

Cox Media Group

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