(NEW YORK) — A judge dismissed the case against a former Philadelphia police officer who had been charged with murder in connection to the death of Eddie Irizarry, according to Philadelphia ABC station WPVI.
Mark Dial had been charged earlier this month with murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person and official oppression, in the Aug. 14 shooting.
Judge Wendy Pew dismissed the case during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, citing lack of evidence, WPVI reported.
Originally, police had said that Irizarry, 27, was outside the car and was killed after lunging at police with a knife, but two days later the department acknowledged that he was shot while inside his car.
In announcing the charges, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner released footage from the body-worn cameras of Dial and a second officer who was at the scene, warning the video “will in some ways be traumatic.”
The district attorney’s office said it plans to file an appeal on Tuesday, saying in a statement it “disagrees” with the judge’s decision.
“In keeping with our oath to seek justice, we will move to have all criminal charges, including Murder, reinstated against this defendant,” the statement said.
The footage shows Dial getting out of his cruiser and approaching Irizarry’s car with his gun drawn. “I will f—— shoot you,” he says, before firing into the front driver’s seat where Irizarry was seated. Prior to shots being fired, an officer can be heard yelling at Irizarry to show his hands.
Dial fired six shots “at close range,” Krasner said.
Brian McMonagle, one of Dial’s attorneys, called the murder charge “abhorrent.”
“The undisputed facts of the case are that an individual made an illegal turn right in front of police officers, took off at a high rate of speed, and then tried to evade officers by going down a one-way street the wrong way, tried to hide from them,” McMonagle told reporters earlier this month.
“And when police officers ordered him to show his hands, he instead produced a weapon and pointed it at an armed police officer,” he continued.
The city’s police commissioner at the time, Danielle Outlaw, said on Aug. 23 that Dial would be terminated at the end of a 30-day suspension.
Outlaw, who has since left the department, said at the time that an administrative investigation found Dial violated department rules against “insubordination” by allegedly refusing to obey “proper orders from a superior officer.” She said the administrative investigation also accuses Dial of “conduct unbecoming” an officer for “failure to cooperate in any departmental investigation.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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