May 22, 2025
Provided Image/Philadelphia DA's Office
Former Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial, 29, was found guilty Thursday of voluntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry in Kensington in August 2023. This screen capture from Dial's body camera footage was released after the shooting.
Mark Dial, the former Philadelphia police officer who fatally shot Eddie Irizarry during a traffic stop in Kensington two summers ago, was found guilty Thursday of voluntary manslaughter. The jury found Dial not guilty of third-degree murder, the most serious charge he faced, at the end of a trial that started Tuesday.
Irizarry, 27, was shot through the driver's side window of his car on Aug. 14, 2023, after Dial and his partner, Michael Morris, pulled him over on the 100 block of East Willard Street in Kensington. The officers had been following Irizarry for erratic driving and stopped him after he went the wrong way down the one-way street.
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When the police cruiser pulled up next to Irizarry's car, the two officers got out and shouted at Irizarry to show his hands. Seconds later, Dial, 29, opened fire into the car and shot Irizarry six times.
Body camera footage shows that Irizarry was holding a knife near his knee but had not left his car – with its windows shut – when Dial fired into the vehicle.
Prosecutors argued that Dial immediately escalated what should have been a routine traffic stop by drawing his weapon as soon as he got out of his squad car.
Dial's attorneys said the officer heard his partner shout that Irizarry had a gun, and then opened fire to protect himself. The defense claimed Dial's use of deadly force was justified under Pennsylvania law because he feared Irizarry could put him or others in danger of dying.
Philadelphia police faced scrutiny over the shooting because the department's preliminary report said Irizarry had "lunged" at the officers. At a press conference two days later, former police commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the preliminary report was inaccurate.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner initially charged Dial with first-degree murder, but a Municipal Court judge later dropped all of the charges on procedural grounds. Krasner's office re-filed the charges with the lesser count of third-degree murder.
On Thursday, the jury also found Dial guilty of reckless endangerment and a weapons charge. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 17.
In addition to the criminal case, Irizarry's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dial and Morris seeking $150,000 in civil damages.
