Monday, January 14, 2019
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A jury will be picked from another county for the trial of a western Pennsylvania police officer accused in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager last year.
East Pittsburgh officer Michael Rosfeld is charged with homicide in the death of 17-year-old Antwon Rose Jr., who was shot June 19 as he fled a traffic stop.
Judge Alexander Bicket on Monday ordered a jury chosen from outside Allegheny County, citing “pervasive prejudicial pre-trial publicity” that could deny Rosfeld an impartial jury. He said he expected media coverage to intensify as jury selection begins.
Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey, who says Rosfeld believed the teen was armed, argued that media coverage of the shooting and protests would make a fair trial in the county impossible.