Lawsuit claims Pitt allowed officer to resign, concealed record before Antwon Rose shooting
PITTSBURGH —
Attorneys for the estate of Antwon Rose allege the University of Pittsburgh allowed former campus police officer Michael Rosfeld to resign rather than be terminated, enabling him to obtain another law enforcement job before he fatally shot the teenager.
The allegation is detailed in hundreds of documents filed in the estate’s case against the university, including Rosfeld’s personnel records, exhibits and deposition testimony.
One document, dated Jan. 18, ended Rosfeld’s six-year career as a University of Pittsburgh police officer. The form initially states that Rosfeld was terminated. Handwritten notes, however, indicate that Rosfeld instead resigned under an agreement that prevented him from appealing or returning to the university.
Fred Rabner, an attorney for Antwon Rose’s estate, argues that the arrangement removed Rosfeld from Pitt’s police force while allowing him to pursue another law enforcement position without a termination on his record.
“The University understood exactly the kind of officer it was releasing and exactly where he was headed,” Rabner wrote. “It handed him the pen anyway, and in sanitizing his record it all but assured that another department would hand him a gun and a badge.”
Before his resignation, Rosfeld received several reprimands from Pitt.
Following an arrest at the Garage Door Saloon in Oakland, Pitt police determined that Rosfeld had lied about his investigation and referred the matter to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors declined to charge Rosfeld, but Pitt ended his employment approximately one month later.
By June, Rosfeld was working for the East Pittsburgh Police Department. Hours after being sworn in, he shot and killed Rose as the 17-year-old fled a traffic stop.
According to deposition testimony filed in the case, the East Pittsburgh police chief contacted Rosfeld’s former Pitt supervisor before hiring him and was told Rosfeld was eligible for employment. The chief testified that, had she known Rosfeld was initially terminated and then permitted to resign, she probably would not have interviewed him.
Rabner contends that Pitt’s failure to disclose that information contributed to Rose’s death.
The University of Pittsburgh disputes the estate’s claims.
“We continue to believe this case is without merit and should have been dismissed long ago,” a university spokesperson said. “We are hopeful that the Court will dispose of it in the near future.”
The case is scheduled to go before a judge on Oct. 14.
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