Eddie Irizarry Case: Murder Charge Dropped Against Philadelphia Police Officer

A judge on Tuesday dismissed all charges against a Philadelphia police officer who fatally shot a 27-year-old man who was sitting in his parked car last month, ruling that prosecutors had not presented enough evidence.

Municipal Judge Wendy L. Pew agreed with lawyers for the officer, Mark Dial, who had argued that he was acting in self-defense when he killed Eddie Irizarry on Aug. 14, believing that Mr. Irizarry was taking out a weapon. Mr. Dial, a five-year veteran of the Police Department, was suspended from the force with intent to dismiss.

After body camera footage showed Mr. Dial fatally shooting Mr. Irizarry six times at near-point-blank range, according to prosecutors, he was charged with first-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment of another person and official oppression.

Defense lawyers had argued that Mr. Dial’s partner yelled “gun” before the officer opened fire on Mr. Irizarry, who was sitting in the driver’s seat at the time of the confrontation.

In a statement, the district attorney’s office in Philadelphia said it planned to appeal the decision by the end of the day on Tuesday.

“In keeping with our oath to seek justice, we will move to have all criminal charges, including murder, reinstated against this defendant,” the statement said.

Mr. Irizarry’s relatives expressed outrage after the ruling, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“The officers can go out here and kill a person that’s not doing anything and get away with murder, because this is what it was,” Zoraida Garcia, Mr. Irizarry’s aunt, said outside the courthouse.

Inside the courtroom, police officers responded to the judge’s decision with an outburst of support for Mr. Dial, The Inquirer reported.

The ruling is the latest twist in the fatal shooting that sparked community anger in protests.

The officer fatally shot Mr. Irizarry around noon on Aug. 14 after what the police initially said was a car chase that ended in Mr. Irizarry lunging at Mr. Dial with a knife. But two days later, police officials changed that account, and said that body camera footage showed that the man, later identified as Mr. Irizarry, was still in his car when the officer shot him.

Mr. Dial and his partner were sitting in a marked police car when they saw a Toyota Corolla that they said was driving erratically in the Kensington neighborhood northeast of Center City Philadelphia. The officers followed the car the wrong way down a one-way street, where it pulled over into a parking spot.

The footage showed Mr. Dial racing out of the passenger seat of the police car and, within seconds, forcefully telling Mr. Irizarry that he “will shoot” him and quickly firing his gun multiple times through the driver’s seat window. Mr. Dial instructed Mr. Irizarry to “keep those hands up right where I can see them” as Mr. Irizarry slumped over in his seat.

Mr. Irizarry was declared dead at a hospital later that day.

Investigators found two knives in Mr. Irizarry’s car, a kitchen knife and a serrated folding knife, the police have said. His family said Mr. Irizarry carried a pocketknife with him regularly. They described him as a quiet man who was being treated for serious mental illness, including schizophrenia. He moved to Philadelphia about seven years ago from Puerto Rico, they said, and had difficulty understanding English.

Mr. Dial was arrested on Sept. 8 and, in an unusual move, was released on bail. But two weeks later, another judge revoked his bail and ordered him jailed before the preliminary hearing. On Tuesday, Judge Pew ordered him released again.

“This was a tragedy and not a crime,” Brian McMonagle, a lawyer for Mr. Dial, said in a statement.