Police departments considering changes after Antwon Rose's death

PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates has learned about potential changes for local police departments because of what happened following the deadly shooting of Antwon Rose.

The officer who killed Rose, Michael Rosfeld, is on house arrest, with a preliminary hearing set for later this month.

Rosfeld is also facing a lawsuit for a separate incident at a bar when he worked for the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the biggest changes would be a statewide database that would give potential employers access to a police officer's work history and any disciplinary action.

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After Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala's claim that the East Pittsburgh Police Department, where Rosfeld worked and the shooting happened, had no policies, state senator Jay Costa is proposing legislation to improve guidelines and training for smaller police departments.

"it's very clear that maybe we need to go back and visit and have this conversation going forward and bringing all the partners in the mix," Costa said.

Among Costa's proposals: use of force guidelines and sensitivity training for all departments, along with a database to track an officer's work history.

After the shooting in East Pittsburgh, questions surfaced about Rosfeld's work history.

Earlier this week, two men filed a civil suit against Rosfeld, accusing him of fabricating allegations against them while he was an officer at the University of Pittsburgh.

The charges were later dropped and Rosfeld left the university.

Costa believes incidents like that should be documented.

"So that when a part-time officer or a full-time officer goes from one position into another, one community to another, that information is available to the folks during the interviewing process," Costa said.

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Pittsburgh Police Union President Bob Swartzwelder told Channel 11 he has a lot of questions about how the database would be used.

Among them: Did an officer get a fair discipline hearing? Does the officer have the right to challenge the findings?

Swartzwelder said agencies can already challenge an officer's certification through the Municipal Police Officer's Education and Training Commission.

Costa also told Channel 11 he believes that the attorney general's office should investigate police-involved shootings and he will push that legislation as well.

Cox Media Group