Two months after fatally shooting 17-year-old Antwon Rose, East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, 30, did not appear for his formal arraignment Wednesday. At the brief session, court officials set the date for Rosfeld’s pretrial conference.
According to the district attorney's office, the pretrial conference is set for Sept. 11.
At that meeting, the officer’s trial will be scheduled. Allegheny County Common Pleas judge Anthony Mariani will preside over the case.
Rosfeld is accused of shooting Rose as the teen fled a car suspected of being involved in an earlier shooting. Rose, who was black, was unarmed.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala charged Rosfeld, who is white, with criminal homicide in June. The officer was released on a $250,000 unsecured bond and is on house arrest. The East Pittsburgh Police Department has placed him on administrative leave.
The department has been criticized for not properly vetting Rosfeld before hiring him. The officer left a job with the University of Pittsburgh police department early this year, after he allegedly arrested three men based on a false police report.
According to multiple reports, East Pittsburgh officials are looking into getting rid of the borough's police department entirely and having police services provided by a neighborhing municipality.
*This story has been updated to reflect that Rosfeld's hearing is on Sept. 11, not Sept. 7 as previously stated.
