1 arrested in Parkway East protest of Antwon Rose fatal shooting

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1 arrested in Parkway East protest of Antwon Rose fatal shooting

Jamie Martines, Megan Guza And Theresa Clift | Thursday, June 21, 2018 8:54 p.m.

Mian Laubscher, of Forest Hills and Woodland Hills High School graduate (middle) gets comfort fromYvette Jackson (left) of East Pittsburgh and fellow Woodland Hills graduate, Jacob Kefalos, of Forest Hills at a rally protesting police violence on Braddock Avenue and Electric Avenue in East Pittsburgh, Wednesday, June 20, 2018. The rally comes a a day after an East Hills Police Officer shot 17-year-old Antwon Rose, a Woodland Hills High School honors student during a traffic stop. Laubscher was a close friend of Rose. 'He helped me graduate,' said Laubscher.

The Parkway East was cleared of protesters at about 2:20 a.m. Friday morning after it had been shut down for nearly 5.5 hours by people protesting the shooting death of Antwon Rose by a police officer.

Traffic began moving on interstate about 10 minutes later.

More than 150 people initially took over the Parkway East on Thursday night in both directions to protest Rose's death.

At 2:30 a.m. Friday, the parkway reopened in both directions near the 78B Wilkinsburg exit for the first time since about 9 p.m. Thursday.

As police moved in, the number of protesters had dwindled significantly, and nearly all of the stragglers climbed over the guardrails and left.

One person was known to have been arrested. Ciora Thomas stayed on the parkway and said she was willing to be arrested to protest Rose's death.

Police at 2 a.m. issued a warning giving the remaining people that they had five minutes to disperse or face arrest. Police in riot gear at either end of the closed portion of the interstate started walking slowly toward the remaining protesters in between.

Before that, police from various jurisdictions surrounded them but made no attempt to disperse the crowd.

At that point, the parkway had been closed for about five hours and 20 minutes.

Cars had been cleared of the highway by police who instructed them to turn around in get off at the nearest ramp. But a few tractor-trailer rigs were forced to sit on the block highway for the entire closure because they were too big to turn around.

Earlier protestors shouted, "No justice, no peace." The crowd remained peaceful, and many protesters at that time vowed to remain throughout the night.

Police first warned the protesters shortly before 1 a.m. Friday that police would soon move in to arrest them, but police didn't move for more than an hour and neither did some protesters.

Instead, protesters linked arms: "Say his name, Antwon Rose Jr."

RELATED: <a href="https://triblive.com/local/allegheny/antwonroseshooting/" target="_blank" Read all of TribLIVE's coverage on the Antwon Rose case.

Earlier, many sat down on the road, while chanting: "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now," and "Shut it down. Shut it down."

Thursday's protest came two days after authorities say East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, 30, shot Rose, a Woodland Hills student, as he ran from a vehicle stopped by police about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Viral video of the incident shows Rose, 17, being shot in the back within seconds of running from the car.

Summer Lee, Democratic candidate for the state 34th House District, arrived on the scene at 10 p.m. handing out voter registration forms and encouraging young protesters to vote.

"We will register you right now," she said. "And in November, every single person who is here is going to send a message. We are not going to forget why we came here today. We are not just going to fight power, we are going to take power."

The second night of protests began at 6 p.m. in front of the East Pittsburgh police station, as the crowd marched through Forest Hills on Ardmore Boulevard to the parkway.

By 9 p.m., the parkway was shut down.

Artishae Thompson of West Mifflin said she saw the protests online and drove to Forest Hills to join the crowd. She parked and started walking toward the parkway.

She clutched a pillowcase that she had written on with marker. It read: "Antwon Rose. RWG. Save our youth. Stop the violence."

"I'm so tired of this violence," she said. "I'm not even talking about race. We all need to come together. Everyone is so divided."

Traffic is stopped in both directions on 376 as a group protesting the death of #AntwonRose took to the parkway. The crowd has grown since starting to march from East Pittsburgh around 6pm. pic.twitter.com/iPPsH8GYvQ

— Jamie Martines (@Jamie_Martines) June 22, 2018

Now in both the east and west bound lanes. Correction on last tweet—Entered the parkway on the east bound side. pic.twitter.com/KoEOwaBVvL

— Jamie Martines (@Jamie_Martines) June 22, 2018

After marching for nearly three hours from East Pittsburgh, a crowd protesting the death of #AntwonRose is taking to the parkway 376 at exit 78b heading west pic.twitter.com/I0CFhTIk2f

— Jamie Martines (@Jamie_Martines) June 22, 2018

Traffic was stopped in both directions on 376 as a a group of demonstrators blocked traffic protesting the death of #AntwonRose @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/ApXSNY1CJd

— Nate Smallwood (@nsmallwoodphoto) June 22, 2018

Parkway is empty #AntwonRose pic.twitter.com/KujjpYWYcG

— Ben Schmitt (@bencschmitt) June 22, 2018

Artishae Thompson of W Mifflin beneath parkway. "I'm tired of this violence. We all need to come together." pic.twitter.com/dmlFZdI1OD

— Ben Schmitt (@bencschmitt) June 22, 2018

My phone has been dead, back online. The crowd is heading for 376. pic.twitter.com/GQr544V6rO

— Jamie Martines (@Jamie_Martines) June 22, 2018

The crowd is moving up Ardmore Ave. to Marion Ave. pic.twitter.com/DQvKOasljk

— Jamie Martines (@Jamie_Martines) June 22, 2018

"What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now." pic.twitter.com/elM94ZnyJy

— Jamie Martines (@Jamie_Martines) June 22, 2018

When the crowd heard their engines, everyone went silent. Then, as they came down Avenue K, they started to cheer. I'm told the men on the bikes are members of the Afro Dog biker group. pic.twitter.com/yBVmjeqT8r

— Jamie Martines (@Jamie_Martines) June 22, 2018

Entrance to Parkway East in Forest Hills. Protesters have it shut down. #AntwonRose pic.twitter.com/tMLcTOnkkj

— Ben Schmitt (@bencschmitt) June 22, 2018

Someone started to rev an engine at the intersection of Kenmore and Ardmore. The crowd immediately moved to continue blocking traffic. pic.twitter.com/1GXRxnDATu