Judge dismisses all charges against Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial after fatal shooting
The Philly DA has filed a motion to reinstate all charges against Dial. A hearing for that motion is scheduled for October 25.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A judge dismissed all charges, including a murder count, against a Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a driver who had a knife, agreeing with defense lawyers who said the officer could have feared for his life.
The municipal judge ruled after a courtroom packed with police and relatives of Eddie Irizarry watched about 20 minutes of harrowing video of the brief traffic stop in the Kensington section of the city that led to the death of 27-year-old.
The defense argued that Officer Mark Dial acted in self-defense when he fired his weapon at close range through the rolled-up driver's side window of Irizarry's sedan on Aug. 14.
Dial's partner, Officer Michael Morris, testified that he saw the driver holding a knife with a black metal handle that could have looked like a gun. He said Irizarry was holding the knife against his leg and started to raise it as Dial approached the car, which had stopped the wrong way on a one-way residential street.
"I screamed that he had a knife," Morris testified.
Defense lawyer Brian McMonagle 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, adding that the charges never should have been filed by District Attorney Larry Krasner.
"I agree with you 100%," the judge replied as she threw out the case for a lack of evidence.
The office of District Attorney Larry Krasner has filed a motion to reinstate all of the charges against Dial. A hearing for that motion is scheduled for October 25.
Action News reporter Maggie Kent, who was in the courtroom, said two audible screams could be heard.
One was a sigh of relief from Dial's supporters. The other was from the outrage of Irizarry's family, who said the ruling sends a message that police officers can do whatever they want.
"There's videos everywhere. The neighborhood - witnesses in the neighborhood - they prove my nephew did not come out of that car. He locked the door to his vehicle. His windows was up. Where's the threat?" said his aunt, Zoraida Garcia. "Even if he has a small pocketknife - where's the threat?"
McMonagle said his client should have never been charged.
"I don't know if they've ever interviewed this police officer before, I don't know whether they looked at the video with the sound. I don't know what they did. But in that courtroom, based on what we saw, what you saw, what the judge saw - the only right thing to do happened in this case," he said.
Dial's partner, Officer Michael Morris, testified Tuesday that the pair had been following Irizarry, who was driving erratically, turned the wrong way down a one-way 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' body-worn camera. District Attorney Larry Krasner has 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 defense, meanwhile, blasted Krasner's decision to charge Dial with murder.
"When police officers ordered him to show his hands, he instead produced a weapon and pointed it at an armed police officer," lawyer Brian McMonagle told reporters this month. "In no world (are) those facts murder."
Mayor Jim Kenney said his thoughts were with Irizarry's family and loved ones. He noted an investigation is being conducted by the Philadelphia Police Internal Affairs Bureau.
"I remain confident that this process will provide accountability and transparency following the police-involved shooting that took Mr. Irizzary's life," Kenney said.
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 five-year member of the force, was suspended with the intent to dismiss after officials said he refused to cooperate with investigators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
