Former cop Michael Rosfeld sues University of Pittsburgh over 2018 firing

The former police officer acquitted last year in connection with the June 2018 shooting death of Antwon Rose is suing the University of Pittsburgh, its police department and a vice chancellor for his firing from the university’s police department.

The lawsuit filed Thursday afternoon in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court by Michael Rosfeld provides the first public presentation of what led to his termination as a Pitt police officer in January 2018.

University of Pittsburgh officials said they hadn’t received the suit and declined to comment.

Rosfeld is also a former East Pittsburgh police officer. He worked for East Pittsburgh when he shot Rose on June 19, 2018, when Rose fled a traffic stop.

Prior to working as an officer in East Pittsburgh, which has since disbanded its department, Rosfeld was a University of Pittsburgh police officer from 2013 until Jan. 18, 2018. Rosfeld contends in the lawsuit that Pitt fired him without cause.

The reason for his termination wasn’t provided by university police officials then, but 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.

Two days after the incident, a deputy Pitt police chief and another officer visited Rosfeld at home and told him he was under investigation, according to the lawsuit.

Six weeks later, Rosfeld claims he was fired and the university didn’t give a reason or allow Rosfeld a chance to defend the actions that led to his firing.

The action violated Rosfeld’s rights to due process, according to the suit, which also names the University of Pittsburgh, Humphrey and Pitt police Chief James K. Loftus.

Rosfeld is seeking reinstatement as a police officer, pending what’s called a Loudermill hearing where the reasons for his termination are stated and he’s given a chance to defend himself. He is seeking lost wages and benefits from Jan. 18, 2018, to present, according to the lawsuit.

Downtown attorney Timothy G. Uhrich filed the suit Thursday afternoon. He didn’t return messages seeking comment.

The incident at the bar had been the subject of another civil suit, filed first in Allegheny County court and then transferred to federal court, that was withdrawn in December 2018 by two of the men who were arrested by Rosfeld at the bar.

Criminal charges against the men were dropped by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.

In October 2019, Antwon Rose’s family settled a lawsuit filed against East Pittsburgh and Rosfeld for $2 million. At the time of the settlement, legal experts said Rosfeld would likely pay none of the settlement as it’s covered by the borough’s insurance policy.

A jury of seven men and five women on March 22, 2019, found Rosfeld not guilty of homicide in connection with Rose’s death. Rosfeld was on trial for shooting Rose three times as he ran from a felony traffic stop in East Pittsburgh. Rose and another man were passengers in a car suspected in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier.