Group Protests Police-Involved Shootings Outside Allegheny Co. Jail, March Through Downtown Streets
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A group of protesters gathered in front of Allegheny County Jail on Wednesday evening for a demonstration over recent police-involved shootings in the Pittsburgh area.
The protest began around 8 p.m., and at one point, the group blocked traffic on Second Avenue.
A few bicycle police officers stood nearby as the protest continued, other police vehicles were also parked in the area.
By 8:30 p.m., the crowd was back on the move to Grant Street and the Boulevard of the Allies. They marched around to different sites in Downtown Pittsburgh.
At 9 p.m., the police told the, 30 or so, protesters to disperse or they could be arrested. Police declared it an unlawful assembly and gave the demonstrators five minutes to break up the gathering.
Shortly afterward, the protesters moved to Sixth Avenue and Smithfield Street, where they were blocking traffic. Pennsylvania State Police were also called in to assist. The protest then moved to Seventh and Penn Avenue, then Liberty Avenue and Wood Street and a little after 10 p.m. it broke up after the protesters joined hands in a circle.
The protesters could be heard chanting the name of Antwon Rose II, but our news partners at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the group was rallying over the shooting of Dontay Green on July 15 in the city's Arlington section.
An officer shot and wounded him in the leg.
The Pittsburgh Police officer chasing Green says the suspect reached in his rear waistband, then pulled out a gun. That's when the shot was fired.
Green was facing multiple charges in the incident, including aggravated assault. He is now in the jail.
Rose was shot last month by East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, who has been charged with criminal homicide in the case. He waived his preliminary hearing just Tuesday.
Rose was unarmed but shot three times as he ran away after the car he was in had been pulled over.
The vehicle matched the description of one seen leaving the scene of a drive-by shooting minutes before in North Braddock.
There have been several protests since the shooting occurred on June 19.
