The former Philly cop who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry is on trial this week for murder

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the murder trial of former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial, who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry as he sat in his car in Kensington two years ago, and the panel will be asked to decide whether the officer’s actions on that day were justified — or amounted to a crime.

It was Aug. 14, 2023, and Irizarry had parked his car on a residential block in Kensington when Dial and his partner sped up the street in their cruiser. The officers had seen Irizarry driving erratically on a nearby street, police said, and followed him as he turned the wrong way down Willard Street and parked his car.

Dial immediately jumped out and drew his gun, according to body camera footage released by law enforcement. Irizarry was holding a knife, seated in the driver’s seat with the windows rolled up, when, within seconds, Dial fired multiple shots through the car window, the video shows.

Irizarry, 27, was struck six times. Dial and his partner rushed him to Temple University Hospital, where he died shortly afterward.

In the weeks that followed, then-Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw fired Dial for refusing to cooperate with an internal investigation. The next month, he was arrested and charged with murder.

Now, Dial, 29, will stand trial before a Philadelphia jury, charged with third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, and related crimes.

The basic facts of what happened that afternoon were captured on video and are not in dispute: that Dial, a five-year veteran of the force, shot and killed Irizarry. That Irizarry was holding a small blade. And that the encounter before the shots were fired lasted only a few seconds.

Dial’s lawyers have said that in the moments before the officer drew and fired his weapon, he thought he heard his partner say that Irizarry had a gun. Dial shot him, they said, because he posed a threat to their safety.

Irizarry’s death led to widespread outrage in the community and among his grieving family, who has since filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Dial and his partner, Michael Morris. The case sparked protests and condemnation of the police department, in part because officials initially provided a false narrative of what happened.

Police first said Irizarry lunged at Dial with a knife, leading the officer to shoot him. Video later showed that was not true: Irizarry was seated in his car when he was shot within seconds of Dial arriving at the scene.

Dial’s attorneys, Brian McMonagle and Fortunato Perri Jr., who for years have represented police officers accused of misconduct, asked that a display screen be placed close to the jury for the playing of the officers’ body camera footage — video that will be key to the case.

As Dial and Morris encountered Irizarry’s car that afternoon, the video appeared to show Dial quickly jumping out of his cruiser, gun drawn. Morris yelled at Irizarry to show him his hands.

As the officers approached the car, Irizarry appeared to be holding a small knife.

It is difficult to discern from the video what exactly Morris yelled next because the audio to his body-worn camera footage was not turned on, and attorneys for Dial and Irizarry’s family hold different interpretations of the footage.

Prosecutors and Irizarry’s family contend the partner yelled “Knife.”

But Dial’s defense attorneys say he yelled “Gun!”

Dial then ran around to the driver’s side of the car and held his gun up to the window.

“I will f— shoot you!” Dial yelled, before he opened fire at near point-blank range through the driver’s-side window and windshield.

He ran backward as he fired, striking Irizarry six times.

Morris tried to calm Dial down as they struggled to open the car door.

“Mark, hold on. Mark, stop,” he said.

The video showed Irizarry moaning and gasping for breath as he bled heavily.

Morris opened the passenger-side door and leaned into the car, appearing to be looking for whatever weapon Irizarry was holding.

“Where’s the … I just seen it,” he said.

The officers then pulled Irizarry from the car and rushed him to the hospital.

The case against Dial has taken a circuitous path to trial.

The charges against the officer were initially dismissed in 2023, when Municipal Court Judge Wendy L. Pew ruled that prosecutors did not present enough evidence to show that Dial had committed a crime. She said Dial was justified in shooting Irizarry because he and his partner were reacting to a situation in which they believed Irizarry presented a potential threat to their safety.

District Attorney Larry Krasner later refiled the charges, clearing the way for trial.

Then, last year, a judge essentially forced Krasner’s office to withdraw the first-degree murder charge against Dial after the prosecutors waited months to tell his defense attorneys about a key piece of evidence they intend to use against him at trial: an expert’s report saying the officers actions violated the state’s use-of-force law.

Common Pleas Court Judge Glenn B. Bronson ruled that prosecutors did not give defense lawyers enough time to prepare a rebuttal to that, but agreed to allow the case to go forward if the lead charge in the case was downgraded to third-degree murder. That allowed Dial to be released on bail.

One hundred jurors are expected to file into the city courthouse on Monday for potential selection for the case, and opening statements could begin by afternoon. The trial is expected to last about a week.