Judge dismisses charges against officer in fatal shooting
PHILADELPHIA >> A judge has dismissed all charges, including a murder count, against a Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a driver.
The municipal judge ruled Tuesday after watching video of the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry by Officer Mark Dial. The defense had asserted that Dial was acting in self-defense when he fired his weapon at close range through the rolledup driver’s side window of Irizarry’s sedan during a vehicle stop on Aug. 14.
Defense lawyer Brian McMonagle had urged Judge
Wendy Pew to drop all charges, which included manslaughter, official oppression and four other counts.
“He is firing while trying to take cover,” McMonagle said in court Tuesday, arguing that Dial feared for his life, adding, “Every tragedy is not a crime.”
McMonagle said the charges never should have been filed, given the evidence, and the judge replied, “I agree with you 100%.”
Irizarry’s relatives appeared stunned and distraught by the ruling and said they would urge District Attorney Larry Krasner to appeal.
Police bodycam footage shows Dial shot Irizarry about seven seconds after getting out of a police SUV and walking over to his car. He fired a total of six rounds.
Defense lawyers called the shooting justified. They said the officer, also 27, thought Irizarry had a gun.
The bodycam footage shows the driver holding a knife by his right leg.
Dial’s partner, Officer Michael Morris, testified at a preliminary hearing Tuesday that the pair had been following Irizarry, who was driving erratically, turned the wrong way down a oneway street, and stopped. Morris said Irizarry had a knife in his hand and started to raise it as the officers approached.
“I screamed that he had a knife,” said Morris, adding
the knife had a black metal handle that could have been mistaken for a gun.
Sitting at the defense table,
Dial dabbed his eyes with a tissue as prosecutors played video of the fatal shooting from Morris’ bodyworn camera. Krasner had called bodycam videos from Morris and Dial “crucial evidence in the case,” saying they “speak for themselves.”
Irizarry’s family has said that Dial deserves a long prison sentence.
The police department had to backtrack from initial statements that said Dial shot the driver outside the vehicle after he “lunged at” police with a knife. Dial, a fiveyear member of the force, was suspended with the intent to dismiss after officials said he refused to cooperate with investigators.
Dial’s bail had been revoked this month after prosecutors argued the charges made him ineligible for release.