COP MURDERS IN
AMERICA - THOUSANDS SHOT IN
THE HEAD.
JUDGES GIVE THE THUG COPS A PASS TO
DO IT AGAIN!
"In the overwhelming majority of police killings, of which
there are more than one thousand every year, no officer is
ever charged. In the few cases where charges are brought,
most are found not guilty. The Supreme Court has made it
nearly impossible to convict a police officer for murder
stating that an officer is permitted to use deadly force as long
as he or she believes that either they or others are in danger."
According to Killedbypolice.net, at least 808 people have been killed by
police so far this year, outpacing last year’s deaths by 20
victims.... and they ALL GET AWAY WITH IT!
"Police in the
United States are trained to see the working
class and poor as a hostile enemy. Anything less
than
complete submissiveness is grounds for officers to unleash
deadly force on
their victims. In some instances, even
the most casual encounters with police have proven
to be
deadly."
there are more than one thousand every year, no officer is
ever charged. In the few cases where charges are brought,
most are found not guilty. The Supreme Court has made it
nearly impossible to convict a police officer for murder
stating that an officer is permitted to use deadly force as long
as he or she believes that either they or others are in danger."
Officer charged with homicide in shooting of black teen
EAST PITTSBURGH, Pa. (AP) — A white police officer was charged Wednesday with homicide in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager who fled a traffic stop last week, and investigators said the officer gave inconsistent statements about whether he saw a gun in the teen’s hand.
East Pittsburgh officer Michael Rosfeld first told investigators that the teen turned his hand toward him when he ran from the car and he “saw something dark he perceived as a gun,” according to the criminal complaint.
During a second recap of the shooting, Rosfeld told investigators he did not see a gun and he was not sure if the teen’s arm was pointed at him when he fired at 17-year-old Antwon Rose Jr.
The 30-year-old officer had been sworn in just hours before the June 19 shooting after working at the police department for a couple weeks. He turned himself in, was arraigned and released on $250,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court July 6.
The district attorney’s office did not immediately return a call for comment but released a statement saying the office argued against granting bail because the charge carries a sentence of life in prison.
The charge of criminal homicide can include any instance in which someone knowingly, intentionally, recklessly or negligently causes a death. It includes the charges of murder and voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, the complaint said.
A lawyer representing Rose’s family said on Twitter that relatives have “guarded optimism” about the charge filed against the officer. A funeral for the teen was held Monday.
“The family will settle for nothing less than a conviction and appropriate sentencing,” attorney Lee Merritt said.
Authorities have said Rose and another teen, who was arrested this week , fled after being pulled over on suspicion they were involved in a drive-by shooting. Rose was shot three times — in the right side of his face, his back and his elbow. The bullet fired through Rose’s back struck his lung and heart.
His death has fueled daily protests around Pittsburgh.
Rosfeld pulled over the car in which Rose was a passenger about 15 minutes after reports of a drive-by shooting in nearby North Braddock. In that attack, a 22-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and was treated and released from the hospital.
A witness described a car from that shooting as matching the one Rose was in. A bystander from a nearby home captured video of a portion of the stop and the shooting.
As Rosfeld took the driver of the car into custody, the passenger doors can be seen opening and Rose and the other teen running from the car. The officer then fires three shots.
Rosfeld has been on administrative leave since the shooting.
Two guns were found in the car and an empty gun magazine was found in Rose’s pocket, but investigators said Rose did not have a weapon when he was shot.
According to the complaint, the driver of the car, who was operating as an illegal cabbie, said he heard shots from the back of his car. He said Rose was sitting in the front and did not fire any shots during the earlier shooting.
The charge against him comes a day after authorities arrested the second teen seen running from the car the night of the shooting. Authorities say they expect to charge that teen, whose name had not been released as of Wednesday morning, in connection with the drive-by shooting.
Rosfeld, of suburban Penn Hills, had worked at several other police departments, including the force at the University of Pittsburgh, during the last seven years.
Murder charges filed against
East Pittsburgh police officer in shooting death of teenager
By
Samuel Davidson
28 June 2018
Murder charges have been filed against the East Pittsburgh police
officer who shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old Woodland Hills High School
student Antwon Rose, Jr. last week as he ran from a car he was riding in after
it was pulled over by police.
Michael Rosfeld, 30, has been charged with one count of criminal
homicide Wednesday, more than a week after he gunned down Rose. He was released
from jail a few hours afterward on a $250,000 unsecured bond, meaning he did
not have to pay any money to get out. An initial hearing is set for July 6.
A cell phone video of the shooting captured by a neighbor shows
Rosfeld firing three shots within seconds as Rose and another youth tried to
run away. All three shots hit Rose in the back. At no time did Rosfeld instruct
Antwon to stop running or fire a warning shot.
Rosfeld, who has been on paid leave since the shooting, had only
been hired by the East Pittsburgh police department a few weeks earlier and was
sworn in less than two hours before murdering Antwon.
At a press conference following the indictment, Allegheny County
District Attorney Stephen Zappala described the shooting as “an intentional act
and there’s no justification for it. You do not shoot somebody in the back if
they are not a threat to you.”
Rose’s family correctly greeted the announcement of charges filed
against Rosfeld with “guarded optimism.” According to a statement released by their
attorneys, the family noted that “there is a long road ahead to a conviction
and proper sentencing which is the only thing we will accept as justice.”
In the overwhelming majority of police killings, of which there
are more than one thousand every year, no officer is ever charged. In the few
cases where charges are brought, most are found not guilty. The Supreme Court
has made it nearly impossible to convict a police officer for murder stating
that an officer is permitted to use deadly force as long as he or she believes
that either they or others are in danger.
Zappala’s indictment of Rosfeld has nothing to do with seeking a
criminal conviction. Zappala delayed bringing charges for more than a week and
the first official interview with Rosfeld was only held by the Allegheny County
Police department Friday, three full days after the shooting, giving Rosfeld
plenty of time to concoct a more favorable account of the killing.
On Tuesday, the day before the indictment, Pittsburgh Mayor
William Peduto announced that he was pressing for an indictment of Rosfeld.
What concerns Zappala and Peduto is the growing movement of
workers and youth throughout the area who have been expressing outrage over the
killing. They hope that with an indictment followed by a drawn-out court
process that popular opposition to police violence will decline.
Rosfeld arrest follows a week of daily and growing protests by
hundreds of residents throughout the area. Many demonstrations have involved
acts of civil disobedience including blocking traffic during rush hour and
sporting events. Workers and youth who have taken part in the protests have
been motivated by the continuing wave of police violence throughout the country
as well as the attack on immigrants and growing inequality.
On Sunday more than 1,400 Pittsburgh area residents attended the
viewing for Antwon paying their respects to the family and expressing their
grief and outrage over yet another young man losing his life at the hands of
the police.
Dale, a family member who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site
prior to the charges being filed against Rosfeld said, “Antwon was such a good
kid. He was taking AP classes, all his teachers liked him, everyone liked him.
All his teachers came today, all his friends from school came. 1,400 people
came that is how much he was loved.”
Referring to the fact that the officer who shot Antwon had not yet
been arrested, Dale said, “the question I want answered is why is Zappala
giving him a 10-day head start?
“If it was the other way around, I’d be in jail. Why give him a
head start. He could be halfway around the world. If situation turned around,
and Antwon shot the police office, he would be in jail right now. They would be
grilling him night and day. Why isn’t this man in jail right now?”
A friend of Rose’s who attended the Sunday viewing, said, “He was
a really nice guy, he worked hard and was friendly to everyone. It is so wrong
that the police shot him in the back. He wasn’t a treat, he was scared and ran.
He was probably worried that if he got in trouble it would hurt his future. The
police treat kids as criminals, but we are people.”
On Monday, hundreds of people attend his funeral which was held in
one of the Woodland Hills School District’s buildings with many of Antown’s
friends and teachers speaking about his life and the impact that he had on
them.
On Tuesday protest resumed with nearly a thousand people marching
through downtown Pittsburgh demanding justice.
In the week since Rose’s murder at least 13 people have fallen
victim to police shootings, according to a database maintained by the Washington Post. So far
this year 504 people have been shot and killed by police; the vast majority,
477, are men. The greatest number of victims are white (193), followed by black
(92), and Hispanic (52). Fifteen are listed as Other and 152 as unknown.
As in the case of Antwon Rose, 28 victims were unarmed and 178
were shot while they ran away from the police.
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