Gov. Wolf signs bills for use-of-force registry, stronger background checks for cops in Pa.
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After an East Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed Antwon Rose II two years ago, critics of the officer wondered how he had been hired so easily after facing previous misconduct complaints.
Rose would have celebrated his 20th birthday Sunday
The officer, Michael Rosfeld, had a checkered past, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday.
“His (Rose’s) life was stripped away too soon,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro joined Gov. Tom Wolf as two bills were signed into law that creates a database that identifies police officers with a history of excessive use-of-force complaints, requires pre-employment background checks and mental health evaluations for police officers in Pennsylvania.
The database is dubbed “The Rose Registry.”
A jury found Rosfeld not guilty of homicide in Rose’s killing. Jurors explained that they believe they followed the law in reaching the verdict. The foreman said Rosfeld was justified in shooting Rose based largely on Rose’s involvement in a drive-by shooting earlier that evening.
Rosfeld is suing the University of Pittsburgh, alleging he was wrongfully terminated from its police department in 2018.
The lawsuit contends Rosfeld was fired in retaliation for a Dec. 9, 2017, incident at the Garage Door Saloon in Oakland where Rosfeld arrested three men, including the son of University of Pittsburgh Senior Vice Chancellor Kathy Humphrey. The suit is still making its way through the court system.
Pitt’s lawyers contend East Pittsburgh never asked for Rosfeld’s employment records.
The bills Wolf signed into law would require police departments to document police misconduct and share that information with other departments as part of a pre-employment background check; the laws will also require officers to undergo a mental health evaluation.
They build upon police reforms the governor announced last month and are part of the state’s effort to enact law enforcement reforms following the national outrage over the May 25 killing of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
“We have made progress in six weeks, but we are far, far from the finish line,” Wolf said.
The actions taken thus far aren’t enough to halt what he termed systemic racism and Black oppression in law enforcement, Wolf said.
“We have to find a way to eradicate it,” Wolf said of such racism.
Shapiro called the actions a “down payment” on reforms officials need to deliver to Pennsylvanians.
“Black lives matter. But saying it — that’s just not enough,” Shapiro said. “We must listen and we must take action.”