The body camera footage showing Philadelphia officer Mark Dial shooting and killing Eddie Irizarry further refutes the initial police reports of the incident, attorneys for Irizarry’s family announced Thursday.
Attorneys Shaka Johnson and Kevin P. O’Brien both spoke during a Thursday morning press conference at the Concilio Office on 141 East Hunting Park Avenue. They were joined by community leaders who called for justice more than a week after officials announced the pending firing of Officer Dial, 27, who was captured on video shooting and killing Irizarry, 27.
During the press conference, O’Brien and Johnson announced that Irizarry’s family saw the body worn camera video of the shooting during a meeting with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Wednesday.
The attorneys said Krasner’s office assured them they were working to release the body cam video the public within the next two weeks. They also said the footage further refuted the initial police reports of the shooting.
“The footage provides further irrefutable proof that the initial police narrative of this shooting was false,” O’Brien said.
A rally for Irizarry will also be held Thursday at 4:30 p.m. outside of Taller Puertorriqueño on 2600 North 5th Street. The rally will be followed by a march through North Philadelphia that will include a stop at the location where Irizarry was killed.
The press conference, rally and march come more than a week after Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw announced the suspension and pending firing of Officer Mark Dial.
“Today, I am announcing that I have made the decision to utilize commissioner’s direct action to suspended Police Officer Mark Dial with the intent to dismiss him at the end of 30 days due to administrative violations,” Outlaw said during a press conference on Aug. 23. “More specifically, I chose to exercise direct action due to Officer Dial’s violations of PPD disciplinary code Article 4, insubordination, Section 4-002, refusal to promptly obey proper orders from a superior officer, and Article 1, conduct unbecoming, Section 1 – 008, failure to cooperate in any departmental investigation.”
The Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a man in Kensington was suspended with intent to dismiss after 30 days, officials announced Wednesday. NBC10’s Frances Wang has reactions from the man’s family and the latest on the investigation.
Outlaw also noted that Dial’s actions during the deadly shooting are still under investigation and that his pending firing is due to him not giving an account of the incident within 72 hours, which is the department’s policy.
“I want to make it clear that the investigation into the shooting itself continues, along with the administrative investigation in which there may be additional disciplinary charges in the event that Officer Dial violated additional PPD policies,” Outlaw said.
The announcement came a day after video was released of Officer Dial, 27, shooting and killing Irizarry.
Attorney Shaka Johnson was joined by Irizarry’s family during the Aug. 22 press conference in Center City. During the presser, Johnson showed surveillance video of what he claimed was the deadly police shooting.
“We are here this afternoon because we have asked the city of Philadelphia through the District Attorney’s Office, through the city solicitor’s office, to allow the family to give them the respect they are due and allow them to see the body worn camera footage privately,” Johnson said. “Even if it weren’t going to be released publicly, allow this family to see that privately.”
Johnson said he and Irizarry’s family were able to obtain surveillance video from the community after they were initially unable to get the body worn camera video from city officials.
The lawyer for the family of a man who was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer last week released video of the shooting during a press conference on Tuesday. WARNING: This video is graphic.
“You may have heard we were initially set to see this body worn camera footage last Friday and then that was rescinded. The opportunity to see that was rescinded,” Johnson said back on Aug. 22. “As a result, we’re working tirelessly with this family. We had to go about things on our own and acquire video of this particular incident ourselves.”
What we know about the shooting
The shooting occurred on Monday, August 14, in Philadelphia.
Investigators said Irizarry was driving the wrong way along the 100 block of E. Willard Street at 12:28 p.m. when he was pulled over by Officer Mark Dial, a five-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, and his partner.
The surveillance video shows a car pulling up and parking on a narrow street. A few seconds later, a police vehicle pulls up next to the car and two officers get out.
When the officers approached Irizarry’s vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that Officer Dial attempted to open the passenger door of the car, when his partner alerted him that Irizarry was armed.
While one of the officers is heard saying something to the other officer in the video moments before the shooting, it’s unclear what exactly is being said.
The officers are also heard repeatedly saying, “show me your hands” while aiming their weapons at the vehicle. One of the officers then fires six shots at the car a few seconds later.
Police said Officer Dial fired “multiple times” and that Irizarry was hit “several” times. Irizarry’s family said that he was shot six times, which is consistent with what’s shown in the surveillance video.
Outlaw said that officials are not yet certain whether Irizarry knew he was being followed by police.
In the surveillance video, one of the officers then opens up the car door and pulls the driver out. Both officers then carry the motionless driver as they walk away.
Irizarry was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:48 p.m. that day, officials said.
Initially, police officials said that Irizarry was outside of the vehicle while armed with a knife and had lunged at police before he was shot. Police later said on Aug. 16 that this information was not accurate however and instead he was inside the car and simply turned when he was shot and killed. The video that was shown during the Aug. 22 press conference shows the officers firing at the vehicle only a few seconds after pulling it over. At no point was Irizarry outside of the car. It’s unclear from the video whether or not Irizarry turned while in the car.
Law enforcement officials claimed two knives “were observed inside the vehicle.” Officials said these were a serrated folding knife and some type of kitchen knife. It’s unclear from the video shown Tuesday whether or not there were knives inside the car.
During Thursday’s press conference, O’Brien said Irizarry was carrying a pocket knife that he used for work. He also said the body camera footage showed Irizarry never raised the knife or lunged at police. Instead, it appeared Irizarry was trying to put the knife away, according to O’Brien.
“When he’s told to drop the knife, he’s never given the opportunity to drop the knife and summarily shot before the police officer can really get the words out of his mouth that he’s asking for the knife to be dropped and I remind you this is a person who doesn’t speak English all that well,” O’Brien said.
During the Aug. 22 press conference, Johnson criticized the initial account from police that they later said was inaccurate.
“When you look at this video, I want you to ask yourselves, look at it critically and ask yourselves, how, based on what you will soon see, could the narrative have ever been, this was a police chase? How could Ms. Reilly have ever taken to the podium as a spokesperson for the police department and said that Mr. Irizarry, Eddie, got out of that vehicle, wielded a knife, and I believe I heard Ms. Jasmine Reilly say, ‘officers gave commands to drop the knife whilst Eddie was outside of the vehicle. He did not do that. He in fact lunged at police officers and then was shot.’ We know that that is a patent lie. It is a fabrication. It did not happen that way at all,” Johnson said.
Corporal Jasmine Reilly is a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department who read the initial report of the shooting but was not the officer who created the actual report.
During the press conference on Aug. 16, Outlaw said investigators knew their initial story was not accurate after watching body camera footage from the officers on the scene.
“The body worn camera footage made it very clear that what we initially reported was not actually what happened,” she said.
A Philadelphia police officer who was caught on video was suspended with intent to dismiss after 30 days, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. NBC10’s Rosemary Connors has the latest details.
During the announcement of Dial’s suspension, NBC10’s Rosemary Connors asked Outlaw for a response to Johnson’s statement that the initial police report was a “patent lie.”
“I would call it misinformation,” Outlaw said.
Outlaw was also asked where the initial misinformation came from.
“As I stated when asked that before, that is currently under an active investigation,” Outlaw said. “I, again, have questions. I have the same questions.”
Outlaw also spoke more about the need for transparency.
“During last week’s presser, I assured the public that a fair and thorough investigation will take place by our department and I also pledged that our department would provide updates in a transparent and expeditious manner,” Outlaw said on Aug. 23. “But only when we could do so in a way that would not compromise the integrity of ongoing investigations by the police department and the district attorney’s office. I stand by my words and will continue to do so as the investigations continue.”
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who attended the Aug. 23 press conference, also spoke about the relationship between police and the community.
“I do think in general the community supports the police,” Kenney said. “The police are in support of the community. Circumstances like this do set us back. But I think that we’re able to recover and move forward.”
Philadelphia police said the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office must give approval for the release of the body worn camera footage under Pennsylvania law.
“Should the new procedure be moving forward that police top brass look at the body worn camera footage before putting out a statement as it relates to police-involved shootings because of what happened here?” NBC10’s Rosemary Connors asked.
“I think that makes sense,” Outlaw said. “I think moving forward, actually I know moving forward, is that less information will be shared until we can corroborate those details that we’ve given you in the past.”
What we know about Eddie Irizarry
NBC10 Philadelphia’s Miguel Martinez-Valle spoke with Irizarry’s family. They said his primary language was Spanish and that he didn’t understand or speak English well. They also said he had a mental health illness. Johnson also spoke about Irizarry’s mental health issues during Tuesday’s press conference.
“That young man unfortunately doesn’t speak a word of English and he battled with schizophrenia for many, many years,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Irizarry had moved to the United States from Puerto Rico at the age of 19 and had never been in trouble with the law.
“This young man has never been arrested a day in his life,” Johnson said. “He’s never seen handcuffs, the inside of a jail cell. Ever in 27 years. Never had a negative encounter with police.”
The Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a man in Kensington was suspended with intent to dismiss after 30 days, officials announced Wednesday. NBC10’s Frances Wang has reactions from the man’s family and the latest on the investigation.
Dial’s attorney told NBC10 his client has the full support of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Officer Dial’s partner has also been placed on administrative duty.
Funeral services for Irizarry took place on Aug. 24 at Christ & St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.
NBC10’s Miguel Martinez-Valle was in North Philadelphia for the funeral of 27-year-old Eddie Jose Irizarry who was killed in a police shooing in Kensington. The officer who killed Irizarry, officer Mark Dial, has been suspended and will be fired after 30 days.
