Michael Rosfeld Trial: Cop Sobbed After Fatally Shooting Teen

PITTSBURGH, PA - Dramatic testimony in Michael Rosfeld’s homicide trial Tuesday indicated the former East Pittsburgh police officer was extremely distraught after fatally shooting teenager Antwon Rose II.

Rosfeld shot Rose last June while he was running from a vehicle Rosfeld pulled over because it had been involved in a drive-by shooting minutes before in North Braddock. Rose, 17, was unarmed when he was shot and authorities have said Rose didn't fire any shots during the drive-by.

The highlights of Tuesday’s testimony:

East McKeesport Officer Scott Lowden, a certified EMT, said that when he arrived on the scene, Rose was lying face down and was handcuffed, according to WTAE-TV. Performing a trauma assessment, Lowden found that Rose had no pulse rate and was gasping for breath.

Immediately after Rosfeld shot and killed Rose, he was sobbing, appeared to be hyperventilating and almost collapsed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Rosfeld kept repeating, ““I don’t know why I shot him. I don’t know why I fired. I don’t know why I shot,” according to KDKA.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey asked that a gag order on the case be lifted after an attorney for the Rose family spoke on his family’s behalf before the trial began Tuesday, WPXI-TV reported. Common Pleas Court Judge Alexander Bicket denied the request.

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