On the evening of June 19 in East Pittsburgh, a young Black teenager named Antwon Rose Jr. was shot and killed by a police officer. Rose, 17, was in the back of a car that had been pulled over, and he and another passenger ran while the driver was being arrested. He was then shot three times from behind by the arresting officer. A video captured at the scene shows the incident, while a horrified woman in the background yells, “Why they shooting at him? All they did was run and they shooting at them!” Rose died in the hospital.
Protests broke out in the days following the shooting. Hundreds of people showed up at the county courthouse to demand justice, while later during the day and well into the night protesters blocked highways. Despite rain, protesters sat and demanded justice, and it doesn’t seem like the energy will let up, as each day since there has been a new action. The resolve of the people of Pittsburgh has shown brightly over the last week as residents have come together to demand justice for one of their own.
In the same way Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin faced a smear campaign after their wrongful deaths, the media and police has begun to do the same with Antwon Rose. Rose, who was unarmed when the shooting occurred, has been falsely accused by the media of taking part in a drive-by shooting prior to the traffic stop, claiming there was video evidence. Alleghany County Director of Communications Amie Downs, denied these claims, saying they were false. But the damage has been done. The media had succeeded in defaming Rose, bolstering racist claims that this unlawful murder was justified. Alleghany County District Attorney Stephen Zappala confirmed, “Mr. Rose never did anything in furtherance of the crimes in North Braddock.”
By all accounts, Rose was a nice young man. He is quoted as being a “kind,” “well-mannered,” “intelligent” gentleman who enjoyed sports, the arts and skateboarding. In one picture, he is shown playing a saxophone, displaying his love for music. Another, smiling before a school dance with his date and some friends, the image of a normal high school boy. He worked at a local Domino’s, where he was seemingly beloved. His coworkers brought stacks of pizzas to a protest Thursday night and cried out in disbelief at the injustice of a life wrongfully taken.
The police officer, Michael Rosfeld, was charged with criminal homicide on June 27. Several witnesses said Rose had had nothing in his hands as he’d run, contradicting the story Rosfeld gave. The captured video also shows that nothing was in Rose’s hand, which DA Zappala also confirmed. As of this article, Rosfeld was released on bail; an action which the Rose family deemed “wholly inappropriate.”
Rosfeld had been sworn in as an East Pittsburgh officer that same day. An attorney for the Rose family claims Rosfeld had “a significant history of abuse of authority.” DA Zappala has also stated there was past behavior from Rosfeld which he found concerning, though he did not specify. He is alleged to have been fired from the University of Pittsburgh for assaulting a Black student and lying about it, a claim which is consistent with Rosfeld’s inability to keep a straight story about what happened the evening he murdered Rose.
A preliminary court hearing is scheduled for July 6, while the city of Pittsburgh and the Rose family wait to see if justice will be served.
It is no coincidence that police violence is so often focused on working-class Black communities. Police in the U.S. carry the slogan “to protect and serve.” But when officers have the audacity to shoot unarmed children and teenagers like Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, and now Antwon Rose, it forces us to ask: who do they protect? Who do they serve?
In capitalist countries like the United States, the police serve the interests of the ruling capitalist class. They exist, not to protect and serve the people, but to protect and serve the interests of private property and the institutions which uphold and empower it, such as white supremacy, which enables the super-exploitation of Black and Brown workers in the United States.
Under socialism, the masses of people would have the power to dismantle that institutional racism that allows police to so flippantly end Black lives. The people would be in charge; power would come from the bottom up, to ensure the protection of those who most need it, while actively working to end racism and all other forms of specialized violence and exploitation on the large scale.
As long as our communities stand together, we can fight for justice against criminal cops who wish to use their position to enact violence against the marginalized, and we can fight to build a society that benefits the many rather than the few.
Justice for Antwon! Power to the people!
