PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mark Dial, the former Philadelphia police officer convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 2023 fatal traffic stop shooting of Eddie Irizarry, became eligible for immediate parole on Thursday after a judge sentenced him to 9 ½ months to two years in prison.
Dial has spent the last 10 months behind bars, permitting him to be released for time served.
The 29-year-old was convicted in May of voluntary manslaughter. He was found not guilty of third-degree murder — the most serious charge against him.
He is expected to walk out of court on Thursday, having essentially already served his sentence.
At the sentencing hearing, Dial sobbed through the letter he wrote the court, saying, “I am terribly sorry for the pain I caused the Irrizarry family.” The family then had sharp words for him, calling his testimony that he gave back in May “crocodile tears.”
“He gets to go home again, and what do we have? We get to go to a cemetery and visit Eddie all over again,” said Ana Cintron, Irizarry’s aunt. “Unbelievable, again, my nephew’s life as a victim didn’t matter at all. He literally took his life.”
On Aug. 14, 2023, Irizarry was pursued by police for driving erratically. When Dial and his partner pulled him over on East Willard Street in Kensington, Irizarry was sitting in his car with a knife. As later-released security camera, bodycam and dashcam footage showed, Dial fired his service weapon within seconds of approaching Irizarry in his car.
The judge said he took all mitigating factors — including that Dial had a stellar police record, awards and accolades — into consideration in his sentence.
After listening to tearful letters from both sides, the judge expressed condolences to the family, acknowledging their “profound loss.” He said he believed Dial was remorseful and believed Irizarry had a gun and then took steps to try and save Irizarry, noting that this was not a typical voluntary manslaughter case, as this was a police officer.
Dial’s attorney, Brian McMonagle, said justice was served.
“Mark Dial was a dedicated public servant, risked his life every day for perfect strangers,” he said. “This case was a terrible tragedy. In a big sense, there are no winners or losers here.”
McMonagle said his team is still reviewing whether they will appeal Dial’s conviction.