Former Philadelphia police officer charged with murder for Eddie Irizarry shooting
The former Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry last month has turned himself in to authorities and now faces multiple charges including murder and voluntary manslaughter, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced on Friday. Attorneys for Mark Dial, also 27, called the charges "appalling," telling The Philadelphia Inquirer that they "intend to right this wrong and bring this young man home."
Irizarry was shot on Aug. 14, after police initially claimed he had lunged at them with a knife following an attempted traffic stop. Two days later, police officials recanted their story after viewing body camera footage, which was released by Krasner's office as part of the charging announcement. The footage showed Dial firing through the driver's side window of Irizarry's vehicle "roughly five seconds after exiting a police car," CNN reported, adding that immediately before Dial opened fire "an unidentified voice from outside the car is heard saying, 'I will f**king shoot you!'"
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has already acknowledged the confusion from her department's initial claims, admitting that the public might "not really be sure whether or not they should even trust what we're saying" during a press conference last month. In a statement to the Inquirer Friday, Outlaw confirmed an internal affairs investigation was ongoing, and reiterated that her office "remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of the communities we serve." Earlier this week Outlaw had announced she planned to step down from her position at the end of the month.
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"They changed the story and they keep changing the story," Irizarry's aunt told The New York Times in August. "What they're saying are lies," she added, calling the crime "abuse."
According to Krasner, Irizarry's family requested the footage's release, saying the police body cameras would "speak for themselves."
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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
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