A white police officer, Michael Rosfeld, was charged Wednesday with criminal homicide in the fatal shooting last week of an unarmed black teenager who fled a traffic stop in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Investigators say Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about whether he saw a gun in the teen's hand. Authorities have said Antwon Rose Jr. and another teen fled after being pulled over on suspicion they were involved in a drive-by shooting. Rose was shot three times, leading to protests around Pittsburgh.

Some other high-profile cases in recent years in which police were charged with shootin...