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East Pittsburgh Officer's Attorney Doesn't See Antwon Rose's Death As 'A Murder Case'

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld has been charged with criminal homicide in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose.

Rosfeld was released on $250,000 unsecured bond, which the district attorney's office said it argued against and will deal with at a later date. He has since been placed on house arrest until trial.

Rosfeld's attorney Patrick Thomassey said he doesn't believe this is a murder case.

Patrick Thomassey
Patrick Thomassey (Photo Credit: KDKA)

"Reading the affidavit of probable cause, which is the facts that the police write to support the arrest warrant, quite frankly, I don't see it as a murder case at all," Thomassey said.

Rosfeld turned himself in Wednesday morning and was later released after posting bond. Thomassey said his client was in a dangerous situation.

"Clearly, the people in the car were armed. Clearly, at least one person in the car was firing at somebody and shot somebody right up the road. Police officers are there to protect," Thomassey said.

Rosfeld is charged with criminal homicide and will be in court on July 6 for a preliminary hearing.

"I'm not going to get into my conversations with my client, but I think the law is clear that he had a right to shoot," Thomassey said.

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Six witnesses provided their accounts of what happened the night Rose was killed, but Thomassey said it will be up to the legal system to decide what happens with Rosfeld.

"If everybody stayed calm and stayed in the car, none of this would have happened. So I… we'll see. We'll have a hearing. We'll have a trial. We'll have 12 people figure it out," Thomassey said.

michael rosfeld mughshot
(Photo Courtesy: Allegheny County Jail)

While Thomassey would not talk about conversations with his client, he did say Rosfeld understands he shot someone.

"He is a mess. I mean he is not happy. He understands he shot somebody. I mean that is not something that any policeman is happy about," Thomassey said.

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