PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mark Dial, the former Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a man sitting in his car during a traffic stop two years ago, took the stand at his murder trial Wednesday morning.
Dial tearfully recalled the Aug. 14, 2023, incident. He and another officer were pursuing 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry for driving erratically.
Dial was with a different partner than usual that day. They pulled Irizarry over on East Willard Street, and Dial said his partner exited their car with his gun drawn.
Dial said he got out of the police vehicle and saw his partner’s service weapon, so he believed Irizarry was armed with a gun. He said he then saw Irizarry — still seated in his car — reach around the side of his body, but he couldn’t see what he was reaching for because of a glare on the glass.
In that moment, he said he was concerned and thought he saw a gun in Irizarry’s hand — a black handle with something that looked like it was pointing at him. (Investigators later confirmed it was a knife.)
“I thought I was going to get shot in the face,” 29-year-old Dial testified.
He thought he heard his partner say “gun.” Within seconds, Dial fired, striking Irizarry.
However, the partner testified that he yelled “knife,” not “gun.” Prosecutors questioned Dial several times, but he said he only heard the word “gun.”
Dial said he wanted to try to save Irizarry, so he took him to Temple University Hospital. When he found out Irizarry died, Dial said it was “one of the worst feelings in my life.”
Dial cried throughout his testimony, pulling tissues from time to time. He told jurors he had been in police chases in high-crime areas before but had never pulled out his gun.
Dial is facing third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and other charges.
After a use-of-force expert testified that he believed Dial was justified in the shooting, the defense rested outside the courthouse.