Family of Antwon Rose, teenager killed by police, settles suit for $2 Million

Antwon Rose, an unarmed teenager, was fatally shot last year during a traffic stop in East Pittsburgh, PA.

A $2 million settlement has been reached in the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of Antwon Rose, an unarmed teenager who was killed last year by a police officer during a traffic stop in East Pittsburgh, Pa., a lawyer for the family confirmed.

Lawyer S. Lee Merritt said $2 million was the maximum East Pittsburgh could pay under its insurance policy.

Merritt said the Rose family “wasn’t particularly happy’’ with the settlement, “but it was the most the city could do.”

“The goal for the lawsuit,’’ he said, “was to come up with a figure that would cause police officers in the East Pittsburgh area to think before they pull the trigger and force the city to consider better training.”

The settlement came seven months after former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, was acquitted of criminal homicide in connection with the shooting. The verdict came after a four-day trial in downtown Pittsburgh and less than four hours of jury deliberation.

The shooting happened on June 19, 2018, after Rosfeld pulled over a Chevrolet Cruze in which Rose was a passenger because the car allegedly matched the description of one involved in a nearby drive-by shooting that had occurred 10 minutes earlier.

As Rosfeld placed handcuffs on the driver, and Rose and another passenger jumped out of the vehicle and turned to run away, Rosfeld shot him in the face, elbow and back. A video of the encounter was widely viewed on the internet and led to days of protests.

In August 2018, Michelle Kenney and Antwon Rose, Sr. , Antwon’s parents,  filed the federal civil rights lawsuit against East Pittsburgh and Mr. Rosfeld, accusing Michael Rosfeld of using excessive and deadly force and the borough’s policymakers of improperly training police officers and failing to protect their son.