PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The trial against Mark Dial, the former Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry during a traffic stop in 2023, got underway Monday.
Dial faces third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and related charges in the shooting death of Irizarry.
It happened on Aug. 14, 2023, in the city’s Fairhill neighborhood. The brief incident was caught on body-worn camera video: Irizarry was being pursued for driving erratically and was pulled over. Irizarry was sitting in his car with a knife, and within seconds, Dial fired his service weapon.
The question at hand is whether the shooting was justifiable. Prosecutors said it was murder. The defense argued the 29-year-old officer believed the knife was a gun, and he fired in self-defense.
Prosecutors showed video Monday of what happened that day, with Dial’s partner — the first to testify — on the stand. Dial silently sobbed as the video from his perspective played.
His partner said they saw a car driving erratically and speeding in a bike lane, sharply turning onto small streets, seemingly to elude police, eventually driving the wrong way up a street, and parking.
The partner said they did not activate lights and sirens, but when they pulled up to the car, he said they noticed a knife at the side of Irizarry’s right leg.
In their opening statements, prosecutors told the jurors that Dial had no regard for human life and intentionally shot Irizarry six times in the jaw, chest and shoulder. They added the whole encounter took six seconds, and Irizarry was not a threat.
The defense contended the knife had a handle that looked like a gun.
They added that the law is on the side of the police — that when someone believes their life is in danger, they can fire their weapon, saying Irizarry was not following police commands to put his hands up.
The case has taken several twists and turns in the last two years. A month after the shooting, a judge tossed charges against Dial, only for them to be reinstated shortly thereafter. The courts also denied a defense motion to change the venue of the trial. And, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office was forced to drop the first-degree murder charge against Dial after a judge said prosecutors failed to give proper notice of an expert to the defense.
Courts have issued a gag order in this case, barring attorneys on both sides from speaking to reporters until after the trial.
The trial is expected to last about a week.