Ex-Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial gets parole at sentencing in shooting death of Eddie Irizarry
A judge sentenced Dial to an aggregate of 9 1/2 to 2 years in prison and granted him immediate parole since he had already served 10 months while he was charged with first-degree murder.
Dial was found not guilty of third-degree murder by a jury in May in a mixed verdict. He was also found not guilty of official oppression.
Dial was found guilty on other charges, including voluntary manslaughter, possession of an instrument of crime and reckless endangerment.
The four-day trial centered on claims that Irizarry "lunged" at officers during the August 2023 stop and Dial's belief that Irizarry had a gun in the car. During the trial, Dial's partner testified that he called out that Irizarry was armed. Defense attorneys for Dial agreed that the case was a tragedy but argued that Dial didn't deserve to be convicted for making a "reasonable" mistake.
In a statement, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office thanked the jury, prosecutors and the Philadelphia Police Department's Officer Involved Shooting Unit for its role in the investigation.
"The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office remains committed to fair and even-handed justice no matter who the offender or victim may be," the statement said in part. "While we believe most sworn law enforcement personnel carry out their responsibilities with integrity and professionalism, we believe today's conviction of the former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial was both fair and just."
Despite Dial being found not guilty of the third-degree murder charge, the mixed verdict brought a "little comfort" for the Irizarry family.
"It's not going to bring Eddie back, but at least now everyone in Philadelphia can see that it's some type of justice," Zoraida Garcia, Irizarry's aunt, said. "Sitting in the courtroom today was really frustrating, but at the same time, the jury did what was right."
Garcia said that the rest of her family in court were "satisfied" with the verdict. However, the family believes he was murdered, even though the jury acquitted Dial on that charge.
Shaka Johnson, who represented Irizarry's family in the trial, said it "meant the world to him" that the family was satisfied with the verdict.
"Eddie Irizarry was murdered," Johnson said. "The jury didn't find he was murdered to respect to the letter of the law, but they did find that officer, now Mr. Dial, killed him unjustifiably. And at least that public recognition is some sort of solve and at least an avenue toward healing for this family."
As far as sentencing, Garcia is just hoping Dial will get time in the range of five to 10 years.
"As you can see, Mark Dial walked out of here with his family, my nephew is not here," she said. "Right now, the only thing we can do is go take him flowers to the cemetery, that's it. And they have him until July, OK? He celebrated a birthday with the family. We celebrated at the cemetery, so it's frustrating."
Brian McMonagle, Dial's defense attorney, said they were elated that the jury acquitted the third-degree murder charge, but they were disappointed with any conviction in the case.
"Obviously, this has been a long process," McMonagle said. "But as we said from the beginning, Mark made an honest mistake. Today, this jury's verdict reflects that they believe he made a mistake. The mistake wasn't with malice, it wasn't with bad intentions. We look forward to speaking on his behalf at his sentencing, in which we're going to urge this court to show great leniency because this was a good cop in a real difficult circumstance who made an honest mistake."
Two days after the trial began, Dial unexpectedly took the stand in his own defense.
Dial told the jury he feared for his life in the seconds before he shot Irizarry, and he testified that he heard his partner say Irizarry had a gun.
Detectives called to testify said two knives were found inside the car Irizarry was driving, but no guns.
When the case began, Dial was initially charged with first-degree murder offenses, but the Philadelphia DA's office threw them out in August 2024.
"As we said, he was charged with first-degree murder in this case. Think about that? And that charge was ultimately dismissed, and we went to trial on third-degree murder in this case," Fred Perry, another attorney for Dial, said.
The verdict in the trial of Dial came 21 months after a botched traffic stop on Willard Street in Kensington on Aug. 14, 2023.
Police changed their account of the shooting soon after it took place after reviewing body camera footage. Police initially said Irizarry was outside of his car and "lunged" at officers, but the footage showed Irizarry remained inside the vehicle with the windows rolled up during the shooting.
Officials said Dial and his partner were following Irizarry, who was apparently driving erratically. Dial and his partner got out of their police cruiser after Irizarry was driving the wrong way down Willard, a one-way street.
Prosecutors said within six seconds, Dial fired five shots through the closed driver's side window.
Dial's attorneys claimed the former Philadelphia officer was threatened and that Irizarry was holding a knife in his car during the encounter. He believed he heard his partner say "gun."
Two knives were found in the car.
In September 2023, Municipal Court Judge Wendy L. Pew threw out the case at a preliminary hearing, citing a "lack of evidence." Charges were reinstated against Dial one month later.
The shooting led to protests demanding justice for Irizarry at City Hall and further strained the relationship between police and communities within the city.
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