PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Latest on the homicide trial of a white Pennsylvania police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
The second day of the criminal homicide trial of a white officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager has ended for the day with compelling witness testimony that included a neighbor saying he heard the officer say “I don’t know why I shot him.”
Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld’s trial will continue Thursday.
A neighbor said he was on his porch when Rosfeld fired three bullets into 17-year-old Antwon Rose II after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier.
Rosfeld’s attorney says the former officer was justified in shooting Rose.
Rosfeld was charged, investigators said, after his story changed about whether he saw or believed a gun was in Rose’s hands.
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4:10 p.m.
A police officer who responded to the East Pittsburgh shooting death of an unarmed black teenager said the white officer who shot him asked if he “saw the gun.”
Allegheny Housing Authority officer Charles Rozzo testified Wednesday at the second day of the trial of former Officer Michael Rosfeld.
Rozzo said he approached a distraught Rosfeld, who asked him how 17-year-old Antwon Rose II was doing.
Rozzo said Rosfeld then asked if Rozzo saw the gun. It’s unclear what gun Rosfeld was referring to. Rosfeld was charged, investigators said, after his story changed about whether he saw or believed a gun was in Rose’s hands.
Authorities have said two guns were inside the vehicle and an empty ammunition clip was in his pocket.
Rozzo said Rosfeld then asked him to call his wife.
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1:50 p.m.
A witness who was in an East Pittsburgh senior center a white police officer entered after fatally shooting an unarmed black teenager says he heard the officer say, “Why did he take that out of his pocket?”
Patrick Shattuck testified Wednesday as the second day of the trial of former Officer Michael Rosfeld resumed.
Shattuck said that about five minutes after 17-year-old Antwon Rose II was shot, Rosfeld went into the building with swollen, red eyes saying, “Why did he do that? Why did he do that? Why did he take that out of his pocket?”
East Pittsburgh Mayor Louis J. Payne was also there for a council meeting. He said he heard Rosfeld say, “Why did he do that?” but not the comment about the pocket.
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11:50 a.m.
A witness says he saw a white officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in Pittsburgh panicking on the sidewalk, saying, “I don’t know why I shot him. I don’t know why I fired.”
Neighbor John Leach testified Wednesday as the second day of the trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld resumed.
Leach lives a couple houses away. He said he was on his front porch when Rosfeld fired three bullets into 17-year-old Antwon Rose II after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier.
Leach says he saw other police officers consoling Rosfeld. Leach says Rosfeld was bending over crying, hyperventilating and looked like he was about to pass out.
A second witness video was also played in court.
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10:10 a.m.
The mother of an unarmed black teenager who was fatally shot by a white former police officer is urging prosecutors to show what a “kind, loving and funny” person her son was.
Michelle Kenney’s letter to prosecutors was released Wednesday, as the second day of the trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld resumes in a Pittsburgh courtroom.
In the letter, Kenney asks prosecutors to paint a picture of her son Antwon Rose II as the loving, exceptional person that he was. She says they must counter the defense’s portrayal of the 17-year-old high school student as “just another thug.”
She says he taught children in the neighborhood how to roller blade and skateboard and would give away his skates to kids in need. She calls him a “rose that grew from concrete.”
In June, Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier.
Rose was shot as he fled the car.
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3 a.m.
Video that showed a white police officer shooting to death an unarmed black teenager is among the evidence presented during the first day of the former cop’s criminal homicide trial.
More testimony is expected Wednesday when the trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld resumes in a Pittsburgh courtroom.
The 30-year-old Rosfeld is accused in the June death of 17-year-old high school student Antwon Rose II.
Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier.
Rose was a front-seat passenger in the cab and was shot as he fled.
A neighbor who recorded the confrontation said the tone of Rosfeld’s voice is what got her attention.
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