After East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfield fatally shot Woodland Hills High School student Atwon Rose on Tuesday night, the community responded quickly, first organizing a protest outside the East Pittsburgh Police Department on Wednesday night. Hundreds joined the impromptu rally blocking traffic while rain poured down.
[Read: Officer involved in fatal shooting was former Pitt police officer]
Protesters took to the streets of Pittsburgh in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Anne Amundson | Staff Photographer)
Another protest followed on Thursday afternoon at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Downtown Pittsburgh. Many high-profile activists attended the protest, including Leon Ford, who was paralyzed after being shot by police six years ago, and Summer Lee, Democratic state house candidate for the 34th District of Pennsylvania. Protesters directed their focus against Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., who is up for re-election in 2019.
“Five kids from Woodland Hills have been killed since I started running,” Lee said. “We will not just fight the power. We will seize the power. We are coming for anybody, anybody who stands in our way, towards freedom.”
Rose was a senior at Woodland Hills high school and was expected to graduate at the end of this school year. He was an honor student and previously worked at the Pittsburgh Gymnastics club mentoring children after school and as a volunteer for Free Store, a program that gives away surplus and items to those in need.
Protesters Lesa Sanders (right) and family friends prepare a sign before Thursday evening’s protest. “He was a good kid. He didn’t deserve this,” Sanders, who knew Rose, said. (Photo by Kiern Mclean | For The Pitt News)
The protest on Thursday evening moved to Route 30, where marchers stopped highway traffic. (Kieran Mclean | For The Pitt News)
At the protests, friends and family shared memories of Rose, including a poem that he wrote in high school called “I AM NOT WHAT YOU THINK!”
“I am confused and afraid,” was the refrain. The poem continued, “I understand people believe I’m just a statistic / I say to them I’m different / I dream of life getting easier / I try my best to make my dream come true / I hope that it does.”
Protesters continued on Thursday with a rally that began outside the East Pittsburgh police station. While people arrived the group organized itself, preparing signs and chants for their planned march.
The group, which grew to nearly 100 people, blocked traffic around the area, chanting, “Black lives matter!” and, “Whose streets? Our streets!” Many members of the Pittsburgh Youth Power Collective led chants and emerged as the loudest voices in the crowd. The group, comprised of mostly high school students, also organized the Black Lives Matter X Never Again protest on Pitt’s campus in March.
The post Community responds after high school student fatally shot by police appeared first on The Pitt News.