THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld has been charged with criminal homicide for the murder of Antwon Rose, who was shot three times in the back while running away.

A police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., was charged with criminal homicide on Wednesday in the fatal shooting last week of Antwon Rose II, an unarmed teenager who was struck three times while trying to flee.

Officer Michael Rosfeld, 30, turned himself into the authorities around 7 a.m. and was booked into a jail in Allegheny County, according to court records. He was arraigned about an hour later and was released after posting $250,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for the morning of July 6.

Prosecutors in Allegheny County argued in court on Wednesday morning that Officer Rosfeld should be denied bail, but they were overruled. “We believe the magisterial district judge’s ruling on bail was improper but we do not plan on contesting it at this time,” a spokesman for the district attorney said.

The shooting occurred just hours after Officer Rosfeld was sworn into the East Pittsburgh Police Department last Tuesday. He pulled over a Chevrolet Cruze that matched the description of a vehicle seen near an earlier drive-by shooting in which a 22-year-old man was struck in the abdomen. When the car stopped, Antwon, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, and a passenger in the back seat jumped out and ran.

A video of the encounter posted on Facebook shows them running from police vehicles as three shots are fired, and Antwon falling to the ground. The video sparked days of protests in the East Pittsburgh area and calls for Officer Rosfeld to be charged in the shooting.

Needless to say, Officer Rosfeld says he saw something dark in the victim's hand before blasting him to Kingdom Come. That should be enough for Officer Rosfeld to walk free.