The killing of Eddie Irizarry occurred on August 14, 2023, when he was shot by Philadelphia Police Department officer Mark Dial while in his vehicle.
Quick Facts Location, Date ...
Killing of Eddie Irizarry |
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Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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Date | August 14, 2023; 9 months ago (2023-08-14) |
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Attack type | Homicide by shooting, police killing |
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Deaths | Eddie Irizarry, aged 27 |
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Accused | Mark Dial |
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Charges |
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Later on August 14, Philadelphia police told the media that the incident began when officers pulled over a car that was "driving erratically", then as "officers approached" the car, Irizarry "stepped out" of the car "with a knife", which the "officers gave multiple commands for him to drop", but Irizarry "lunged at the officers", prompting the shooting.[2][3] On August 15, Philadelphia police changed their story, stating that Irizarry was actually in the car when he was shot.[3] Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw stated that officers' body-worn camera footage "made it very clear that what we initially reported was not actually what happened."[4]
On September 8, 2023, Mark Dial – who fired the fatal shots, was charged with first-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person, and official oppression.[1][5] Body camera footage of the incident, released on September 8, showed Dial running to Irizarry's car and shouting "I will fucking shoot you!" around five to seven seconds before Dial fired six gunshots into Irizarry's car immediately upon approaching Irizarry's vehicle, followed by Dial handcuffing Irizarry's dead body and dragging his body to the police car.[5][6][4] It was reported that Irizarry had a knife by his right leg while in his car, though this was not visible to Dial.[4] Dial's lawyer has said that Dial fired because he thought Irizarry was pointing a gun at him, while CNN reported that "body camera videos of the shooting do not appear to show Irizarry with a gun".[5] On September 20, 2023, Dial's bail was revoked.[7]
On September 26, the judge overseeing the case, Municipal Court Judge Wendy L. Pew, dismissed all charges against Dial,[8] but charges were refiled hours later.[9][10] On October 25, upon appeal by prosecutors, all charges, including first-degree murder, were reinstated by State Judge Lillian Ransom, and Dial was taken back into custody without bail.[11]
If convicted of the murder of Eddie Irizarry, Mark Dial would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.[12]