Jury Selection Set To Begin This Week In Officer Michael Rosfeld's Trial
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) -- Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of an East Pittsburgh police officer charged with homicide in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager.
Officer Michael Rosfeld is charged with shooting Antwon Rose II as the teen fled a traffic stop last June. Rosfeld is white.
In January, a judge ordered that the jury be selected from outside Allegheny County due to extensive pre-trial publicity.
The trial is set to begin on March 19.
After 12 jurors and four alternates are selected, they will be bused to Pittsburgh for the start of testimony beginning next week, the Post-Gazette reports.
"Race is a big factor in this case," said Dauphin County Attorney William Costopoulos. "You have a white young police officer, you have an unarmed African-American 17-year-old boy that was killed. So race is a big factor."
Dauphin County is about 20 percent African-American and 80 percent white, similar to Allegheny County. The prosecutors and the defense will be looking for different qualities in jurors.
"The defense is going to look for pro-police," Costopoulos said. "The commonwealth is going to look for those that are not so sympathetic to the police, that have had bad experiences with the police."
RELATED STORIES:
- Michael Rosfeld's Attorney Upset Prosecution Seems To Be Holding Back Evidence Ahead Of Trial
- Jury Selection, Trial Pushed Back In Michael Rosfeld Case
- Pa. Supreme Court: Rosfeld Jury Will Be Selected From Dauphin County
- Permanent Gag Order Issued In Case Against Officer Accused Of Killing Antwon Rose
The jury will be sequestered in a hotel for the duration of the trial, which is expected to last two weeks.
Rosfeld is facing criminal homicide charges.
The shooting set off a series of protests that went on for weeks. There's now a gag order in the case.
(TM and © Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)