Eddie Irizarry: DA withdraws first-degree murder charge against ex-Philadelphia officer Mark Dial
PHILADELPHIA - A first-degree murder charge has been withdrawn against former Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial, who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry as he sat in his car nearly a year ago.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office withdrew the charge on Thursday, according to court documents, which also showed that Dial posted bail on the same day.
The decision comes after the DA's Office filed a motion to reinstate all original charges, including murder, manslaughter, official oppression and four other counts back in October.
A judge had dismissed the charges in September after watching video of the fatal shooting during a preliminary hearing.
Eddie Irizarry: All charges dismissed against Philadelphia officer in fatal traffic stop shooting
A judge has dismissed all charges, including a murder count, against Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial who shot and killed a driver as he sat inside his vehicle last month.
The defense claimed that Dial was acting in self-defense when he fired his weapon at close range through the rolled-up driver’s side window of Irizarry’s sedan during a vehicle stop on August 14, 2023.
Just last month, a judge denied a request to move the trial out of Philadelphia, claiming insufficient evidence that the defendant would be unable to get a fair trial in the city.
Dial, 28, was scheduled for trial in September on first- and third-degree murder, manslaughter, official oppression and other charges. A jury trial is now scheduled for May 2025 without the first-degree murder charge.
The controversial case has sparked outrage among the victim's family and community.
Eddie Irizarry’s family files wrongful death suit against fired Philadelphia officer, partner
The family of Eddie Irizarry has filed a wrongful death suit against the fired Philadelphia police officer involved in the traffic stop shooting, as well as his partner.
Body-worn camera video showed Irizarry holding a knife near his right leg as police approached his stopped vehicle.
The footage shows Dial shoot Irizarry about seven seconds after getting out of a police SUV and walking over to the sedan. He fired a total of six rounds.
Police had backtracked from their initial statements that Dial shot Irizarry outside the vehicle after he "lunged at" police with a knife.
Dial's partner, Officer Michael Morris, said the officers started following Irizarry after he sped past them in a bike lane and rounded a corner.
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 started to raise it as Dial approached the car.
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Attorneys representing the Irizarry family entered D.A. Larry Krasner’s office just after 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
"One of the concerns we’ve got, we’re hearing through the press what’s going on. We’re here to get some answers from the D.A.’s office about what happened," said Kevin O’Brien, Family Attorney.
According to the Inquirer, city prosecutors told defense attorneys just this week it had months ago hired an expert to prove Dial violated police use of force procedures in the killing of Irizarry.
The defense argued it didn’t have enough time to prepare a response at trial.
A city judge pushed the September trial to May and Dial was allowed to post bond.
Attorneys for the family say D.A. Krasner could not tell them what happened due to a gag order in the case.
"I can tell you this, the decision whatever it is, is very frustrating for the family, and it does nothing to deter our pursuit of civil justice across the street at City Hall," said O’Brien.