DA’s sole expert in Mark Dial trial said he did not review Pa. laws before determining Eddie Irizarry killing was unjustified
Marc Brown, a former officer and instructor, said the shooting of Eddie Irizarry was unjustified, but acknowledged the state crime code “wasn’t given to me.”
Prosecutors’ sole expert witness in the murder trial of former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial said Tuesday that the fatal shooting of Eddie Irizarry was unjustified — but he said he did not review state law on the permissible use of deadly force by police before forming that opinion.
Marc Brown, a former police officer who studies police use of force and teaches at the University of South Carolina, testified on the second day of the trial for Dial, 29, who is charged with third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and related crimes for shooting Irizarry to death in August 2023.
After reviewing video footage of the shooting and other parts of the investigation, Brown said, he believed Dial and his partner, Michael Morris, made a series of tactical errors as they approached Irizarry’s car, parked on a block in Kensington that summer afternoon.
» READ MORE: Video: Day two of Mark Dial's murder trial continues with questioning of expert witness
Morris, who was driving, did not activate the patrol car’s lights or sirens as he followed Irizarry, Brown said, and then he stopped too close to Irizarry’s car. And Dial, he said, put himself in danger by approaching Irizarry quickly and from the front of his Toyota Corolla.
Brown said he did not believe that Irizarry, who was holding a knife, was an imminent threat to the officers because he was seated in his car with the windows rolled up with Dial approached him.
“For him to be an imminent threat,” he said, “he would have had to go towards [Dial]. He would have had to open the door.”
Assistant District Attorney Karima Yelverton said Irizarry was raising his hands, as Dial and Morris had instructed, but did not have time to drop the knife before Dial opened fire within seconds. Brown said it was not acceptable for an officer to issue commands and not wait for a response.
Fortunato Perri Jr., an attorney for Dial, then asked Brown whether he had reviewed Pennsylvania’s use-of-force laws before he came to that conclusion. Brown said he had not, and instead based his opinion on his years of experience and training.
“I didn’t review the Pennsylvania crimes code,” Brown said. “… It wasn’t given to me.”
At that, many in the courtroom gasped.
“Do you know you’re in a criminal courtroom? … That a man is on trial for homicide, murder, in Pennsylvania? Did you know that?” Perri asked.
“Yes, sir,” Brown replied.
» READ MORE: Supporters of Eddie Irizarry, killed by a Philly cop in 2023, rally on second day of trial
Pennsylvania law says, in part, that an officer is justified in using deadly force if he believes he is in danger of death or bodily injury. Perri said Dial heard his partner say Irizarry had a gun, and believed the knife Irizarry was holding up toward the window was actually a firearm when he shot him.
Earlier in the day, Detective Peter Marrero Jr. of the Officer Involved Shooting Unit had shown jurors the knife — a seven-inch, folding serrated blade that he said Irizarry raised as Dial approached.
Perri’s cocounsel, Brian McMonagle, held the knife Tuesday and pointed it toward the jury, and then the detective. The handle, he said, resembled the magazine of a Glock.
“You said this is about seven inches?” McMonagle asked. “And a Glock is eight inches, right?”
The detective agreed.
Prosecutors are not expected to call any additional witnesses Wednesday. Dial’s attorneys will begin their defense, and said they expect the jury will begin deliberating the case by the end of the day Wednesday.