A former Philadelphia police officer, who killed a man just seconds into a Kensington traffic stop in 2023 after mistakenly thinking the victim had a firearm, is expected to learn his fate on Thursday.
Mark Dial is set for a sentencing hearing after being convicted in May of voluntary manslaughter in a mixed verdict that saw the former officer found not guilty of a more serious third-degree murder charge.
Dial is facing a minimum of four-and-a-half years in prison.
Former Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial is set to be sentenced on Thursday in the shooting death of Eddie Irizarry, who was killed during a traffic stop in 2023.
The shooting of Eddie Irizarry
Dial was charged following an incident that happened on Aug. 14, 2023, when Dial and his partner pulled over Eddie Irizarry along the 100 block of East Willard Street after he was driving the wrong way.
Body-worn camera video shows Dial and his partner getting out of their vehicle with their guns drawn and approaching Irizarry’s car. Both Dial and his partner shouted at Irizarry though prosecutors and the defense have debated what exactly was said.
Six seconds after exiting the vehicle, Dial fired six shots through the car’s closed driver side window, striking and killing Irizarry.
During Dial’s trial, Philadelphia Police Officer Michael Morris, Dial’s former partner who witnessed the shooting, testified that he shouted ‘gun!’ just moments before Dial opened fire.
However, at the time, Irizarry had no handgun. He was seated in the driver’s seat of his vehicle with his window up.
A pair of knives were found in the vehicle after the shooting.
During Dial’s trial, several police officers testified about the role they played in the aftermath of the shooting. A member of the Crime Scene Unit said a kitchen knife was positioned between Irizarry’s driver seat and the center console of his vehicle as well as an opened folding knife in the front of the car.
The 29-year-old Dial himself testified, as well, telling the courtroom that when he fired the six shots that killed Irizarry, it was the first time he had used his service weapon in the line of duty.
As tears welled in his eyes, the five-year veteran of the force said he never wanted to fire his weapon in the first place.
“I didn’t want to get shot in the face,” said a crying Dial, explaining his reaction. “Sorry.”
Police initially claimed Irizarry was outside of his vehicle and lunged at officers with a weapon when he was fatally shot.
That was later found to be false.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.