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SEARCHDefense attorneys called the shooting justified. They said the officer thought the man had a gun and that bodycam footage shows the driver holding a knife by his right leg.
Murder charges against a former Philadelphia Police officer over the fatal officer-involved shooting of man in August have been dismissed.
On Tuesday morning in a courtroom at the Criminal Justice Center, charges were dismissed against Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial, who shot and killed 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry on August 14.
Philadelphia Municipal Judge Wendy Pew determined the incident to be a justifiable shooting, NBC Philadelphia reports.
On Tuesday afternoon, the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner vowed to appeal, as well.
Police bodycam footage shows Dial firing his weapon at close range through the driver’s side window of Irizarry’s sedan during a vehicle stop. Dial shot Irizarry about seven seconds after getting out of a police SUV and walking over to his car, the video showed.
Defense attorneys called the shooting justified. They said the officer, also 27, thought Irizarry had a gun and that bodycam footage shows the driver holding a knife by his right leg.
“When police officers ordered him to show his hands, he instead produced a weapon and pointed it at an armed police officer,” lawyer Brian McMonagle told reporters earlier this month. “In no world [are] those facts murder.”