Protests continue in Pittsburgh after officer acquitted in fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II

[Elderberry]

NBC by Phil Helsel  March 23, 2019

Shots were fired into the Pennsylvania office of the attorney for a white police officer who was acquitted in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teen Antwon Rose II, and protests over the verdict continued Saturday.

No one was hurt in the drive-by shooting apparently directed at the office of attorney Pat Thomassey in Monroeville late Friday, said Monroeville Police Chief Doug Cole.

Michael Rosfeld, 30, a former officer in East Pittsburgh, was found not guilty of homicide Friday in the 2018 shooting of Rose.

Protesters on Saturday gathered at an intersection called Freedom Corner in the city's Hill District neighborhood, the historic center of black cultural life in Pittsburgh, the Associated Press reported.

One man held a sign with the names of black men killed by police around the U.S.

"It's very painful to see what happened, to sit there and deal with it," Rose's father, Antwon Rose Sr., told the crowd. "I just don't want it to happen to our city no more. It's happening like every other day. We've got to do more in our community so they have more stuff to do."

The front of Thomassey’s office and a front window were damaged by the gunfire, and Cole said investigators believe five to eight shots were fired.

More: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protests-continue-pittsburgh-after-officer-acquitted-fatal-shooting-antwon-rose-n986661

[mountaineer]

This kid may have been a choir boy for the first 99.9% of his life, but on the last day on which he drew breath, he chose to hang out with a bunch of kids who - in his presence and apparently with his acquiescence - engaged in a drive-by shooting. Then he chose to help the other young felons dispose of the weapon(s), and then he chose to run from cops who were telling him to stop. The cop who shot him reacted to seeing what appeared to be a weapon, although it turned out Rose was unarmed. If ever identified, the idiots who shot up the cop's attorney's office should be punished to the full extent of the law.

Months ago, the Antwon Rose protests tied up major thoroughfares and made it impossible for ambulances to get through. As long as they stick to tying up intersections in the Hill District, fine, but the next time they block the Parkway East, they should be run over.

[goatprairie]

Let's put it this way....what are the chances of getting shot by the police if a person doesn't abet a drive-by shooting and at least immediately surrenders when confronted by the police?
About zero.
 If you are a person, of whatever color,  who gets in car knowing a person in your car is going to be shooting at other people, and then when the police tell you to surrender you decide to run, don't be surprised when you end up dead.
Where do I go to get that I-don't-give-a-sh*t emoji?

[dfwgator]

Let's put it this way....what are the chances of getting shot by the police if a person doesn't abet a drive-by shooting and at least immediately surrenders when confronted by the police?
About zero.
 If you are a person, of whatever color,  who gets in car knowing a person in your car is going to be shooting at other people, and then when the police tell you to surrender you decide to run, don't be surprised when you end up dead.
Where do I go to get that I-don't-give-a-sh*t emoji?

Chris Rock Put It Best....


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[Applewood]

A friend of mine lives in the city.  Friday night, after the verdict was announced, the protesters were marching and carrying on in her neighborhood.  Between them and the helicopters overhead, my poor friend got little sleep.  These protesters even utilized a Black Lives Matter tactic and conducted some of their protest inside a few restaurants in the neighborhood.  I wonder how many patrons enjoyed having their meals disturbed by these malcontents. 

My friend, like most of the people I know IRL, is a liberal, but even she wanted to know where are these complainers when blacks kill blacks on a daily basis in the city?  Maybe if these whiners expended their time and energy dealing with the violent crime in  their neighborhoods, perhaps their young men wouldn't be dying in such a violent manner.  More of them die at the hands of their supposed friends, relatives and neighbors than they do from the police. 

And about the idiot who shot up Pat Tomassey's office:  that office is in a residential neighborhood.  One or more of those bullets could have traveled to a nearby home and killed a resident.  But I guess the a-hole didn't think about that. 

[mountaineer]

Completely agree, @Applewood . Just like Chicago,  most of the killings in Pgh are black on black, but none of those lives matters to BLM.

[Applewood]

Another protest is planned for today, this time at the courthouse where the case was tried.  And City of Pittsburgh Public Schools kids are going to be allowed to attend as long as a parent or guardian goes through the proper procedures for excused absences. 

My guess is that many of the kids let out of school will be anywgere but at the rally.  And the ones who do go to the rally -- well, it will be one more missed opportunity to perhaps learn something that will lead to gainful employment and a ticket out of the ghetto. 

One of the local tv stations here made no secret of its bias against Rosfeld and in favor of the punk.  Ever since the shooting, the station has run stries about what a good kid Antwon Rose was -- volunteered at a thrift store, was a goood kid, a good friend, obeyed his mom, etc. etc. etc.  Meanwhike, that same tv station continued to bring up an incident when Rosfeld was allegedly mfired from his job with campus police at then University of Pittsburgh and I believe he may have been a defendant in a lawsuit brought by an alleged victim in the incident.  Never mentioned that whatever happened inthat prior incident had no bearing legally on the Antwon Rose case. 

When the verdict was announced, the disappointtment experienced by the news readers at that tv station was obvious.  One of the reporters made no secret of his anger.   So much for unbiased journalism.

[goatprairie]

Another protest is planned for today, this time at the courthouse where the case was tried.  And City of Pittsburgh Public Schools kids are going to be allowed to attend as long as a parent or guardian goes through the proper procedures for excused absences. 

My guess is that many of the kids let out of school will be anywgere but at the rally.  And the ones who do go to the rally -- well, it will be one more missed opportunity to perhaps learn something that will lead to gainful employment and a ticket out of the ghetto. 

One of the local tv stations here made no secret of its bias against Rosfeld and in favor of the punk.  Ever since the shooting, the station has run stries about what a good kid Antwon Rose was -- volunteered at a thrift store, was a goood kid, a good friend, obeyed his mom, etc. etc. etc.  Meanwhike, that same tv station continued to bring up an incident when Rosfeld was allegedly mfired from his job with campus police at then University of Pittsburgh and I believe he may have been a defendant in a lawsuit brought by an alleged victim in the incident.  Never mentioned that whatever happened inthat prior incident had no bearing legally on the Antwon Rose case. 

When the verdict was announced, the disappointtment experienced by the news readers at that tv station was obvious.  One of the reporters made no secret of his anger.   So much for unbiased journalism.

I went to the CBS News Pittsburgh website to read about the protests. Among the other news items I saw were ones about a teen shot at a movie theater, a stabbing, and an armed robbery.
All the people involved appeared to be black.
Maybe Pittsburgh's black population would do well to concentrate on trying to solve serious problems involving crime in their neighborhoods rather than protesting every time one of their hood rats gets himself killed.

[mountaineer]

Interview with the (black) jury foreman here or here:

... Rawls said the jury had an opportunity to view the incident before the traffic stop. 

"We had a chance to watch the drive-by shooting unfold," said Rawls."Someone rolled down the window and shot nine times, and hitting someone standing on the corner at least once."

Rawls said the jury had an opportunity to listen to dispatch communication that indicated Rosfeld spotted a vehicle that matched the description of the one in the shooting. 

"Rosfeld made a felony traffic stop and tried to gain control of the situation with three people in the car," said Rawls. "He had his gun drawn and told the driver to throw the keys out of the window." 

Rawls said the driver listened to every command that Rosfeld gave, including getting on the ground, but the other two people in the car, including Rose, got out and ran.

Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose had something in his hand before he started running away. He fired three rounds, all hitting Rose.

"We also did some role-playing to find out if Rosfeld had any other options. ...

[Applewood]

Thanks @mountaineer I was out for much of the morning, just got home to a replay of an excerpt of that interview with Mr. Rawls.  The ABC27 link goes into much better detail. 

One thing people fail to realize is that this was not a racist killing -- white cop hating blacks and all too easily shooting a black suspect.  If it had been, Mr. Rawls, who is black and the other black juror or jurors would have hung the jury.  As Mr. Rawls said, the jurors were not swayed by BLM BS.  They looked at the evidence, they considered how difficult it was for Rosfeld to make a split second decision to shoot, they even tried to role play in an effort to determine whether Rosfeld could legitimately have made a better choice under difficult circumstances.   It was a judgment call and not knowing what weapon Antwon Rose might have had, Rosfeld had to do what he did to protect himself, his fellow officers and others.  If he had hesitated or decided Rose did not have a  gun, Rosfeld and others might be dead today.  The kid is dead today because, unlike the driver of the car, he did not obey the police commands.  He did not stay in the vehicle.  He chose to run.  His death was his own fault.

Kudos to Mr. Rawls and the other jurors for not buying into the "racist" BS and looking at the evidence to formulate their verdict. 

[mountaineer]

Amen. Nevertheless, the protests continue.
Morons.

[goatprairie]

Thanks @mountaineer I was out for much of the morning, just got home to a replay of an excerpt of that interview with Mr. Rawls.  The ABC27 link goes into much better detail. 

One thing people fail to realize is that this was not a racist killing -- white cop hating blacks and all too easily shooting a black suspect.  If it had been, Mr. Rawls, who is black and the other black juror or jurors would have hung the jury.  As Mr. Rawls said, the jurors were not swayed by BLM BS.  They looked at the evidence, they considered how difficult it was for Rosfeld to make a split second decision to shoot, they even tried to role play in an effort to determine whether Rosfeld could legitimately have made a better choice under difficult circumstances.   It was a judgment call and not knowing what weapon Antwon Rose might have had, Rosfeld had to do what he did to protect himself, his fellow officers and others.  If he had hesitated or decided Rose did not have a  gun, Rosfeld and others might be dead today.  The kid is dead today because, unlike the driver of the car, he did not obey the police commands.  He did not stay in the vehicle.  He chose to run.  His death was his own fault.

Kudos to Mr. Rawls and the other jurors for not buying into the "racist" BS and looking at the evidence to formulate their verdict.

Maybe the jurors were made aware of the fact that a police officer is eighteen times more likely to be killed by a perp than vice versa.