Family of man killed in Philadelphia police shooting demands answers

PHILADELPHIA - Emotions running high 72 hours after the officer-involved shooting that left 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry dead after a traffic stop Monday afternoon.

Fast-forward to Thursday, Philadelphia police have identified the officer that fired his weapon six times as Mark Dial, a five-year veteran of the force, assigned to Philadelphia’s 24th District in Kensington.

FOX 29’s Shaynah Ferreira spoke to the Irizarry family’s attorney, Shaka Johnson, over the phone, in light of the new development.

"I guess the stage is set for how information will begin to trickle out during the course of this investigation," Johnson stated. "The family was not contacted by any member of the Philadelphia Police Department and they were not contacted by any member of the DA’s office, nor was I, as their legal representative."

During an emotional vigil Wednesday, Irizarry’s aunt echoed the concerning sentiment, saying the family has been left in the dark, adding three days after the deadly shooting, the family still has not been allowed to view their loved one’s body or collect his belongings.

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"I have not viewed my nephew. I have not seen him. My brother has not seen him," Zoraida Garcia, Eddie’s aunt, said. "We got to the hospital, they denied us to go in the room to view my nephew. So, as of right now, we have not seen him. We have not spoken to any officers, anyone. No one has come to us to explain anything."

Attorney Johnson tells FOX 29 he, along with Eddie Irizarry’s family, were set to view the officer’s body worn camera footage Friday, but says he received word from the DA’s office that the opportunity to do so was "rescinded" citing the ongoing investigation.

"Tomorrow we are scheduled to have a conference call with the parties that are in possession of the body worn cameras, only to tell us what day they may be able to allow the family to see it," Johnson said. "That may happen in the upcoming days, maybe weeks. We don’t know. We are at the complete behest of the DA’s office, as it relates to this body worn camera issue."

Johnson says the handling of the investigation thus far only adds to the pain of the Irizarry family, now left with more questions than answers.

"On its face, that’s a bad way to treat a family of a decedent who was killed by one of your officers, but I think it’s even more troubling because you got on television and issued a public narrative that completely, patented false," Johnson said. "This is the problem, it’s because you’re not speaking to the family first. So, the family is getting all of the information like they are complete strangers. Just members of the community receiving it over the television. Like they learned about the officer’s name – the same way."

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay funeral expenses.