The Latest: Aug. 22, 8 p.m.
The Citizens Police Oversight Commission on Tuesday called for Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial to be fired just hours after the attorney representing the family of Eddie Jose Irizarry released a video showing the officer fatally shooting the 27-year-old man as he sat in the driver's seat of his car.
CPOC, which has been actively monitoring the Police Department's investigation into the Aug. 14 shooting, is hosting a virtual public meeting, open to all, on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Related
The original story follows
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police on Thursday identified the officer who shot and killed 27-year-old Eddie Jose Irizarry at a traffic stop earlier this week. Officer Mark Dial is a five-year veteran assigned to the 24th district.
Police offered no further information on the shooting, which is still under investigation.
Related
And the police are not the only ones investigating. The Citizens Police Oversight Commission, or CPOC, has had staff embedded in the investigation since the shooting occurred, according to Executive Director Anthony Erace.
“This kind of access in these investigations is unprecedented in Philadelphia history,” Erace said.
He says it has become routine in the last two years for staff to respond, along with police, to officer-involved shootings.
“It’s not a request. It’s mandated by law,” Erace said.
Related
The police initial account had Irizarry outside of his car lunging at officers with a knife. Since then, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has given a dramatically different account, saying he was in his car. And police now refuse to provide certain details, such as whether he was even holding a knife.
CPOC is tailor-made for cases like this. The Commission was created in 2021, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, to provide accountability in the investigation of police shootings.
Related
“There was a gap in trust between the community and policing. Now, the community is essentially present during these sorts of incidents and investigations.”
It replaced the old Police Advisory Commission — with more power and a bigger budget — in hopes of giving citizens more trust in policing.
“What you have now is an agency that is community-driven, that is present in places and spaces that no civilians have been present for, ever,” Erace said. “And I think that that should increase legitimacy in outcomes of investigations and should give the community confidence that, if there is something wrong with an investigation, they’ll know about it.”
Related
The Irizarry case will be the first real test of CPOC — with the police changing their explanation of what happened and no clear answer yet as to why Dial fired. No new details about the shooting have been revealed.
Erace says the staff is monitoring everything the police do, and residents can feel confident in the eventual outcome.
“Nothing’s going on in secret.”
Related
