Protests are mounting after a former East Pittsburgh police officer was found not guilty of all charges related to the shooting death of Antwon Rose II, an unarmed black teenager.
"She has joined a community of mothers who have lost children in really, really horrific ways," he said.
Thomassey said he hoped the city remained calm, and"everybody takes a deep breath and gets on with their lives."At trial, the prosecution and the defense sparred over whether Rosfeld — who'd worked for the East Pittsburgh Police Department for only a few weeks and was officially sworn in just hours before the fatal shooting — was justified in using lethal force.
Rose had been riding in the front seat of the cab when another occupant, Zaijuan Hester, in the back, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. A few minutes later, Rosfeld spotted their car, which had its rear windshield shot out, and pulled it over. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger jumped out and began running away. Rosfeld fired three times in quick succession.
"He's a sitting duck," Thomassey told jurors in his closing argument, asking them to consider"the standard of what a reasonable police officer would do under the circumstances."
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