https://themilitant.com/2018/06/30/cop-charged-with-murder-in-killing-of-antwon-rose/
https://themilitant.com/2018/06/30/cop-charged-with-murder-in-killing-of-antwon-rose/
Cop charged with murder in killing of Antwon Rose
Thousands join daily protests in Pittsburgh area
By Malcolm Jarrett
Vol. 82/No. 25
July 9, 2018
Marchers in Pittsburgh June 23 demand charges against cop who fatally
shot Antwon Rose Jr.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP/Michael M. Santiago
Marchers in Pittsburgh June 23 demand charges against cop who fatally
shot Antwon Rose Jr.
PITTSBURGH — On June 19 East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld
stopped a car he suspected of being involved in an earlier drive-by
shooting. As he handcuffed the driver of the vehicle, an unlicensed
taxi, the two other occupants got out and started running. Rosfeld
opened fire without warning, hitting Antwon Rose Jr., a 17-year-old
African-American, three times in the back.
An eyewitness who recorded the incident on her cellphone put the
recording online, and in less than a day it had been viewed over 90,000
times. In the video you see Rosfeld act as judge, jury and executioner.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled the killing a homicide.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office arrested and charged
Rosfeld with criminal homicide June 27. He was released after posting
$250,000 bail.
Participant in June 26 march in Pittsburgh protesting cop killing seven
days earlier of unarmed teen Antwon Rose.
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
Participant in June 26 march in Pittsburgh protesting cop killing seven
days earlier of unarmed teen Antwon Rose.
Since the shooting there have been demonstrations every day — drawing up
to 1,000 protesters — demanding Rosfeld face charges. Rosfeld was a
new-hire, having been sworn in just hours before he killed Rose. He had
been let go by the University of Pittsburgh police for discrepancies in
arrest reports he filed.
Protesters marched through many areas here, blocking roads and having
spirited discussions with those along the route of the actions.
The only time protests were suspended was for the visitation and
funeral, at the request of the family.
Interviewed by ABC’s TV show “Good Morning America,” Michelle Kenney,
Rose’s mother, said the police “murdered my son in cold blood.” His
father, Antwon Rose Sr., praised the protesters, saying, “Keep fighting.
Do it peacefully.”
“Three shots in the back, how do you justify that?” was one of the most
popular chants. Protesters sang an expanded version of the labor and
civil rights song “Which side are you on?” that takes up police murders.
At one point on June 22, marchers made a large circle and every
17-year-old was asked to step into the middle. “This is what a
17-year-old looks like,” said one protest leader. “How old was Antwon?”
The crowd responded, “17.”
Many others who have experienced brutality at the hands of the
Pittsburgh police joined the actions. Leon Ford Jr., who was shot and
paralyzed by a detective in 2012, led several protests. “Being a
survivor of police brutality, I need to be here,” Aaron Strader, 30,
told the Militant. Strader suffered permanent damage to his hand, spent
four days in jail and lost his job after he was beaten by two cops for
refusing to put his dog in his house in 2016. “A victory for Antwon will
be a victory for us,” he said.
Rose’s funeral filled the auditorium at Woodland Hills Intermediate
School, where he had been an honors senior. His mother put her hands on
the shoulders of two of his friends, who read a poem he wrote in 2016
that has been read at protests and printed in the press.
“I see mothers bury their sons/ I want my mom to never feel that pain/ I
am confused and afraid,” he wrote. “I dream of life getting easier/ I
try my best to make my dream come true/ I hope that it does.”
Nationwide, cops have shot and killed at least 491 people in 2018 so
far, the Washington Post said June 21. At least 90 of those — 18 percent
— have been Black.
Supporters of the cops tried to sow confusion by asking, “Why was Rose
running away?” as if that would somehow mean he was guilty of something.
“That should be the last question they ask,” Matt Geyer, who worked with
Rose at a pizza shop, told the Post-Gazette. “We know why from the poem
he wrote.”
In This Issue
Front Page Articles •Cop charged with murder in killing of Antwon Rose
•'Puerto Ricans will never give up struggle for independence'
•Amnesty for all immigrants in the US! No deportations!
•'Militant' fights new round of censorship in Florida prisons
•2018 Active Workers Conference: Build labor movement, build SWP
Feature Articles •Rising interest rates tighten debt squeeze on US farmers
Also In This Issue •Auckland protest demands protection of Maori land
•London march marks 1 year since Grenfell Tower fire
•Rail bosses press for longer freight trains, less workers
•Ivan Licho’s ‘Militant’ cartoons exposed capitalist rule
•Books by Thomas Sankara spark interest at Harlem festival
•Crisis in Puerto Rico caused by colonial control, capitalist rule
Editorials •Liberals' harassment crusade is threat to rights workers need!
On the Picket Line •UK hospital workers wage second strike, call further
action
•Ukraine rail workers fight for job safety
25, 50 and 75 years ago
© Copyright 2018 The Militant - 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor - New
York, NY 10018 - themilitant@xxxxxx
Thousands join daily protests in Pittsburgh area
By Malcolm Jarrett
Vol. 82/No. 25
July 9, 2018
Marchers in Pittsburgh June 23 demand charges against cop who fatally
shot Antwon Rose Jr.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP/Michael M. Santiago
Marchers in Pittsburgh June 23 demand charges against cop who fatally
shot Antwon Rose Jr.
PITTSBURGH — On June 19 East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld
stopped a car he suspected of being involved in an earlier drive-by
shooting. As he handcuffed the driver of the vehicle, an unlicensed
taxi, the two other occupants got out and started running. Rosfeld
opened fire without warning, hitting Antwon Rose Jr., a 17-year-old
African-American, three times in the back.
An eyewitness who recorded the incident on her cellphone put the
recording online, and in less than a day it had been viewed over 90,000
times. In the video you see Rosfeld act as judge, jury and executioner.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled the killing a homicide.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office arrested and charged
Rosfeld with criminal homicide June 27. He was released after posting
$250,000 bail.
Participant in June 26 march in Pittsburgh protesting cop killing seven
days earlier of unarmed teen Antwon Rose.
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
Participant in June 26 march in Pittsburgh protesting cop killing seven
days earlier of unarmed teen Antwon Rose.
Since the shooting there have been demonstrations every day — drawing up
to 1,000 protesters — demanding Rosfeld face charges. Rosfeld was a
new-hire, having been sworn in just hours before he killed Rose. He had
been let go by the University of Pittsburgh police for discrepancies in
arrest reports he filed.
Protesters marched through many areas here, blocking roads and having
spirited discussions with those along the route of the actions.
The only time protests were suspended was for the visitation and
funeral, at the request of the family.
Interviewed by ABC’s TV show “Good Morning America,” Michelle Kenney,
Rose’s mother, said the police “murdered my son in cold blood.” His
father, Antwon Rose Sr., praised the protesters, saying, “Keep fighting.
Do it peacefully.”
“Three shots in the back, how do you justify that?” was one of the most
popular chants. Protesters sang an expanded version of the labor and
civil rights song “Which side are you on?” that takes up police murders.
At one point on June 22, marchers made a large circle and every
17-year-old was asked to step into the middle. “This is what a
17-year-old looks like,” said one protest leader. “How old was Antwon?”
The crowd responded, “17.”
Many others who have experienced brutality at the hands of the
Pittsburgh police joined the actions. Leon Ford Jr., who was shot and
paralyzed by a detective in 2012, led several protests. “Being a
survivor of police brutality, I need to be here,” Aaron Strader, 30,
told the Militant. Strader suffered permanent damage to his hand, spent
four days in jail and lost his job after he was beaten by two cops for
refusing to put his dog in his house in 2016. “A victory for Antwon will
be a victory for us,” he said.
Rose’s funeral filled the auditorium at Woodland Hills Intermediate
School, where he had been an honors senior. His mother put her hands on
the shoulders of two of his friends, who read a poem he wrote in 2016
that has been read at protests and printed in the press.
“I see mothers bury their sons/ I want my mom to never feel that pain/ I
am confused and afraid,” he wrote. “I dream of life getting easier/ I
try my best to make my dream come true/ I hope that it does.”
Nationwide, cops have shot and killed at least 491 people in 2018 so
far, the Washington Post said June 21. At least 90 of those — 18 percent
— have been Black.
Supporters of the cops tried to sow confusion by asking, “Why was Rose
running away?” as if that would somehow mean he was guilty of something.
“That should be the last question they ask,” Matt Geyer, who worked with
Rose at a pizza shop, told the Post-Gazette. “We know why from the poem
he wrote.”
In This Issue
Front Page Articles •Cop charged with murder in killing of Antwon Rose
•'Puerto Ricans will never give up struggle for independence'
•Amnesty for all immigrants in the US! No deportations!
•'Militant' fights new round of censorship in Florida prisons
•2018 Active Workers Conference: Build labor movement, build SWP
Feature Articles •Rising interest rates tighten debt squeeze on US farmers
Also In This Issue •Auckland protest demands protection of Maori land
•London march marks 1 year since Grenfell Tower fire
•Rail bosses press for longer freight trains, less workers
•Ivan Licho’s ‘Militant’ cartoons exposed capitalist rule
•Books by Thomas Sankara spark interest at Harlem festival
•Crisis in Puerto Rico caused by colonial control, capitalist rule
Editorials •Liberals' harassment crusade is threat to rights workers need!
On the Picket Line •UK hospital workers wage second strike, call further
action
•Ukraine rail workers fight for job safety
25, 50 and 75 years ago
© Copyright 2018 The Militant - 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor - New
York, NY 10018 - themilitant@xxxxxx
