Mark Dial and the Eddie Irizarry Shooting: Verdict, Sentence, and Parole

Former Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial shot and killed 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry during a Kensington traffic stop on August 14, 2023, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in May 2025, and was sentenced two months later to nine and a half months to two years in prison. Because Dial had already served ten months in custody after his 2023 arrest, Judge Glenn Bronson granted him immediate parole at sentencing on July 17, 2025.¹ The Mark Dial and Eddie Irizarry shooting became a defining Philadelphia police accountability case, driven first by a false initial police account and later by a sentence that fell far below state guidelines.

What Happened During the Traffic Stop

Officers spotted Irizarry driving erratically and followed his car for several blocks before it turned the wrong way down East Willard Street in Kensington and stopped.² Dial, a five-year veteran of the department, exited the passenger side of the police SUV with his gun already drawn, walked to Irizarry’s car, and fired six shots through the rolled-up driver’s side window.³ The whole encounter took roughly five to seven seconds from the moment Dial left the SUV.⁴ Body-camera audio captured Dial shouting “Show me your hands” and “I’ll fucking shoot you” before he opened fire.

Irizarry stayed seated inside his car, windows up and the vehicle in park. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said body-camera footage showed him holding a small, open folding knife against his thigh before rolling the window up.⁵ No firearm was recovered from the car.⁶ Dial drove Irizarry to Temple Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

The False Police Account

On the day of the shooting, the Philadelphia Police Department publicly said Irizarry had been outside his car and had lunged at officers with a knife.³ That account was wrong. Two days later, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw acknowledged that the video showed Irizarry inside his car the entire time. “The evidence clearly indicates that the male was not outside of the vehicle and was seated inside of the vehicle at the time of the discharge,” Outlaw said on August 16.⁷

Family attorney Shaka Johnson called the initial account “an onslaught of lies and fairy tales.” Attorney Kevin P. O’Brien noted that a Citizens Police Oversight Commission investigator had reviewed the body-camera footage within two hours of the shooting.⁷ Outlaw later moved to fire Dial, citing insubordination and his refusal to give a statement within the 72-hour window required by department protocol.⁸

Charges, Dismissal, and Refiling

District Attorney Larry Krasner charged Dial with murder, voluntary manslaughter, official oppression, and four other counts.⁹ The case then took several detours before ever reaching a jury.

On September 26, 2023, Municipal Court Judge Wendy Pew dismissed all charges at the preliminary hearing, ruling prosecutors had not shown the shooting was a crime. Defense attorney Brian McMonagle told the court that Dial had fired while trying to take cover from what he believed was a gun, arguing “Every tragedy is not a crime.”¹⁰ Krasner’s office refiled the charges immediately, and on October 25, 2023, Common Pleas Court Judge Lillian Ransom reinstated them, ruling the facts belonged in front of a jury.⁹

On August 8, 2024, prosecutors were forced to withdraw the first-degree murder charge after failing to disclose an expert witness report to the defense. Dial remained charged with third-degree murder and several other felonies, and the loss of the top charge made him eligible for bail.¹¹

The Trial and Verdict

Opening arguments began on May 19, 2025. Dial was represented by Brian McMonagle and Fortunato N. Perri.¹² Prosecutors argued that a routine traffic stop ended in six shots fired into a closed car within seconds, with Irizarry seated behind rolled-up windows, no gun in the vehicle, and Dial having radioed nothing in before shooting.⁶

The defense argued self-defense. Dial testified he believed Irizarry was armed, saying he saw a “black, metallic” barrel pointed at him and “I didn’t want to get shot in the face.” His partner, Officer Michael Morris, testified that he believed he had shouted “knife,” but acknowledged the body-camera audio sounded like “gun.” The defense argued the handle of Irizarry’s folding knife resembled a firearm. Lieutenant Nicholas Coco testified that two knives, and no gun, were found in the vehicle.⁶

The jury deliberated for two days and returned its verdict on May 22, 2025. It found Dial guilty of voluntary manslaughter, possession of an instrument of crime, and recklessly endangering another person. It acquitted him of third-degree murder and official oppression.¹³ McMonagle said the defense was “elated” by the third-degree murder acquittal but “disappointed with any conviction.”¹⁴ Krasner called the conviction “fair and just.”

The Sentence and Immediate Parole

On July 17, 2025, Judge Glenn Bronson sentenced Dial to an aggregate nine and a half months to two years in prison. Because Dial had already served ten months in custody following his 2023 arrest, Bronson granted him immediate parole.¹

The sentence sat well below the state’s standard sentencing guidelines, which called for a minimum of roughly four and a half to nine years and reached twelve years at the high end.¹⁵ Bronson gave several reasons for the departure. He said the case was not “a classic voluntary manslaughter case” and called Dial’s conduct “demonstrably out of character.” He cited the “significant gravity” of Dial’s partner shouting what sounded like “gun,” which he said shaped Dial’s belief that he was in danger. Bronson also pointed to Dial rushing Irizarry to the hospital, saying he had “never seen that happen in a voluntary manslaughter case,” and said he believed Dial showed “genuine remorse.”¹⁶

The courtroom gasped when the sentence was read. Krasner, who had sought five to ten years, said he was “deeply disappointed with a verdict that I think makes people lose faith in the criminal justice system,” and invited the public to “draw its own conclusions.”¹ McMonagle said Bronson “did the right thing” for a “dedicated public servant” who “risked his life every day for perfect strangers.”¹⁶ As a convicted felon, Dial is permanently barred from working as a police officer.¹⁷

The Family’s Response

Irizarry’s family reacted with anger. His aunt Ana Cintron said after the sentencing: “My nephew’s life doesn’t matter at all. He gets to go home again. What do we have? To go to a cemetery and visit Eddie all over again.” His aunt Zoraida Garcia said: “If that was me, and I would have committed this crime, it would have been years. I would have been doing life in prison. But he’s a cop, so he gets the OK.”¹⁷

Family attorney Shaka Johnson said the jury’s verdict, though not a murder finding, still carried weight. “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.”¹

The Pending Civil Lawsuit

The criminal case did not end the family’s legal claims. On September 27, 2023, Irizarry’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Common Pleas Court against Dial and Officer Michael Morris. The complaint, filed by Johnson, alleges that Dial used excessive, unjustified, and illegal force, that the officers lacked adequate training on deadly force, and that police tried to cover up the shooting.¹⁸ As of July 2025, the wrongful-death claim remained pending.¹⁹

1
CBS News Philadelphia. Mark Dial Sentencing in Eddie Irizarry Case
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CNN. Mark Dial Sentenced, Granted Parole in Eddie Irizarry Shooting
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ABC7. Mark Dial Eddie Irizarry Shooting Video
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WHYY. Philadelphia Eddie Irizarry Police Shooting Video
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Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. PPD Officer Charged With Murder for Fatal Vehicle Stop of Eddie Irizarry
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NBC Philadelphia. Verdict in Mark Dial Trial
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NBC Philadelphia. Three Police Reports of the Deadly Shooting of Eddie Irizarry
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WHYY. Philadelphia Police Officer to Be Fired in Shooting Death of Eddie Irizarry
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6ABC. Mark Dial Eddie Irizarry Philadelphia Police Shooting
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City & State PA. Philadelphia Judge Dismisses All Charges Against Police Officer Mark Dial
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CNN. Charges Dropped Against Philadelphia Officer in Eddie Irizarry Case
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The Morning Call. Philadelphia Officer Sentenced, Gets Parole in Eddie Irizarry Shooting
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6ABC. Jury Reaches Verdict in Trial of Former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial
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CBS News Philadelphia. Mark Dial’s Defense Attorneys Disappointed With Conviction
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PhillyVoice. Mark Dial Police Officer Sentencing in Eddie Irizarry Case
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WGAL. Philadelphia Officer Sentenced in Traffic Stop Shooting
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6ABC. Former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial Granted Immediate Parole
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The Philadelphia Inquirer. Eddie Irizarry Shooting Family Sues Police Officers Mark Dial, Michael Morris
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FOX 29 Philadelphia. Former Philadelphia Officer Granted Immediate Parole in Deadly Shooting of Eddie Irizarry