Police officer who fatally shot motorist charged with murder
Mark Dial faces a slew of charges over fatal 14 August shooting of Eddie Irizarry
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A former Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed motorist Eddie Irizarry as he sat in his car has been charged with murder,
Mark Dial, 27, surrendered on Friday and was arraigned on charges including including voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, over the 14 August shooting of Irizarry in the suburb of Kensington.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner released unedited bodycam footage of the ”extremely violent” fatal shooting at the request of Irizarry’s family which showed Mr Dial fire six shots through his window.
Irizarry was unresponsive as he is pulled from the driver’s seat by an officer and put into the back of a patrol car, the videos showed.
“These body-worn camera videos will be introduced into evidence, most likely at both the preliminary hearing and a trial,” Mr Krasner said during a press conference.
“They are crucial evidence in the case and in many ways, they speak for themselves.”
Mr Dial’s bail was set at $500,000 at Friday afternoon’s arraignment. He did not enter a plea.
“We intend to vigorously defend him against the charges,” Mr Dial’s attorney Fortunato Perri said in a statement to NBC Philadelphia.
“Despite what has been portrayed to the media, the facts will unmistakably show that Officer Mark Dial was legally justified in discharging his weapon while fearing for his life.”
Mr Dial and his partner initially claimed that Irizarry, 27, had lunged at him with a knife after pulling him over for erratic driving.
The officer changed his story after his bodycam and Ring camera footage contradicted his account.
The footage showed Mr Dial approach Irizarry’s vehicle with his weapon drawn as he sat in the driver’s seat.
In the footage released on Friday, Mr Dial shouts “I will f***ing shoot you!” just before he opens fire through the car window, hitting Irizarry multiple times.
He orders the fatally injured Philadelphia man to “get your hands up now”.
After placing him in the patrol car, Mr Dial drives Irizarry to Temple University Hospital.
The bodycam footage shows a doctor asking the police officer if Irizarry was breathing or showed any sign of life.
“Barely,” Mr Dial responds. Irizarry was pronounced dead soon after.
Irizarry was “observed holding a small, open folding knife against his thigh”, prosecutors said. “He then rolled up the driver’s side window.”
“I don’t think we’re saying anything more than the obvious when we say that firing six consecutive (shots) at close range at a vital part of the body of a person under the law is strongly supportive, together with other evidence, of all of these charges,” Mr Krasner said.
Mr Dial was fired last month by the Philadelphia Police Department.