But defense attorney Patrick Thomassey told jurors to ask themselves what a reasonable police officer would do in the same circumstances.
Michael Rosfeld, 30, who faces a criminal homicide charge, did not leave his home that day with the intention of shooting someone, Thomassey said.
Rosfeld shot Rose three times as he fled a car last June 19 after a traffic stop. The killing of the unarmed black teenager triggered protests and outrage in Pittsburgh over the officer's use of deadly force.
On Tuesday, supporters of the slain teenager hung purple flowers -- his favorite color -- on trees outside the courthouse. Some wore purple to the first day of trial. Antwon's mother, Michelle Kenney, wore white.
Attorneys give opening statements
"Focus on what was going through Michael Rosfeld's mind at the time that he shot and killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose," prosecutor Dan Fitzsimmons told jurors during opening statements.
He acknowledged that Rose's DNA was on a gun found under the car's front seat but Fitzsimmons said the technology can pick up the slightest fragments of DNA. Fitzsimmons said video will show Rose running from Rosfeld and "causing him no danger whatsoever."
Thomassey told jurors that they will hear from a police use of force expert who will discuss justifiable conduct and training of police officers. He argued the prosecution could not find an expert who could say Rosfeld was wrong, "because he wasn't."
The defense attorney called Rose an "accomplice" in an earlier drive-by shooting.
The jury has been selected from Dauphin County, which is about 200 miles from Pittsburgh, after a ruling that the publicity around the case had affected the jury pool in Allegheny County. The trial will take place in Pittsburgh with the jurors from the other county.
The jury in this racially charged case is predominantly white and older, with two jurors under age 40 and three black jurors, according to CNN affiliate KDKA.
Under Pennsylvania law, the criminal homicide charge against Rosfeld includes murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.
The trial is being watched closely as few officers face trial for shooting deaths.
"Antwon Rose II's family and friends are braced for a trial centered around their most painful loss, the one caused when Michael Rosfeld's service weapon left an irreparable hole in their collective souls," Fred Rabner, a lawyer for Rose's family, said in a statement.
"To them and the many watching this unfold, locally and all over the country, a conviction of Rosfeld would be a momentous first step towards restoring justice and give this hurting family some semblance of peace."
Rose's death last year prompted several groups to shut down highways and intersections across Pittsburgh during protests, demanding accountability.
What happened nine months ago
On June 19, Rosfeld shot Rose three times as he fled a car after a traffic stop.
According to Allegheny County police, Rose was a passenger in a car that authorities suspected of being involved in a nearby shooting. When the officer ordered the driver out of the car, Rose and another passenger "bolted" from the vehicle, and Rosfeld opened fire, striking the teenager, police said.
He was shot on the right side of his face, his right elbow and to the right of his spine.
"Three shots in the back. How you justify that?" the protesters chanted after his death.
Those who knew Rose described him as a generous, promising student who volunteered regularly at a free store that provided clothes, food and other items to members of the community.
Rose had been a passenger in a car that was stopped by police because it matched the description of a car that was involved in an earlier shooting in North Braddock, according to Allegheny County police. Police had been searching for a light gold Chevrolet Cruze after a surveillance video showed a man roll down the Cruze's rear passenger window and open fire with a handgun.
Rosfeld had pulled over a light gold Cruze with its rear window broken and with two bullet holes, according to the criminal complaint. Rose was in the car suspected in the earlier shooting, but did not appear to be the shooter, according to the complaint against Rosfeld.
"By all accounts, Mr. Rose never did anything in furtherance of any crimes in North Braddock," Allegheny County District Attorney Steve Zappala said in June.
Witnesses told investigators that Rosfeld ordered the driver out of the car and appeared to handcuff him before turning his attention to the other occupants. Rose and another passenger ran from the vehicle, and Rosfeld opened fire, Allegheny County police said.
A witness to the shooting captured it on video. The woman recording the video says, "Why are they shooting at him?"
"All they did was run and they're shooting at them."
What Rosfeld told police
Rosfeld told police his intention had been to get all three occupants on the ground as he awaited backup, according to the complaint.
After ordering the driver onto the ground, he said, the front seat passenger exited the vehicle and "turned his hand toward Officer Rosfeld and he, Officer Rosfeld, saw something dark that he perceived as a gun." He stepped out from behind his car door for a better view and opened fire.
Asked again to recount the events, Rosfeld "told the detectives that he did not see a gun when the passenger emerged and ran. When confronted with this inconsistency, Rosfeld stated he saw something in the passenger's hand but was not sure what it was," the complaint said.
Rosfeld had been sworn into the East Pittsburgh police force just hours before the shooting, the complaint said. He'd worked with other local departments for seven years, CNN affiliate WPXI reported.
Months after Rose's death, the East Pittsburgh Police disbanded. Officials said it was because the department was small with limited resources and couldn't compete with larger police agencies that offered full-time work with better pay and benefits.
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