Murder charges reinstated against former Philly cop Mark Dial in death of Eddie Irizarry

A Common Pleas judge reinstated the charges against Mark Dial on Wednesday, nearly a month after a different judge in Municipal Court dropped all charges against him in the death of Eddie Irizarry.

Dial shot and killed Irizarry as he sat in a car on August 14.

Irizarry’s aunt Ana Cintron said Judge Lillian Ransom made the right decision to reinstate all the charges against Dial, including murder.

“The fight is not over, but I am so glad this judge was able to hear there is more than reasonable doubt for this case to go to trial, we needed this as a family, we needed this as a community,” Cintron said. “He is where he belongs, he did murder, ambushing my nephew, because it was six seconds and six shots, now I am very happy and thanking God, God is good.”

Dial’s attorney Brian McMonigle said Dial is not guilty, and he’s considering his next move.

“Those steps may include moving the trial to a county where law and order matters.”

McMonigle added he believes that it might not be possible to find a fair and impartial jury of Philadelphia residents.

“You’ve seen what happened after the first preliminary hearing, they vilified the judge, the mayor got involved, city council got involved. It puts too much pressure on the system so we want to get the case moved to where Mark can have a fair trial.”

Dial will be held in jail without bail until trial because of the murder charges. McMonigle said he “can’t wait to go to trial, because the facts here are undeniable. Mark Dial did not commit a crime.”

Police initially claimed Irizarry was out of his vehicle and lunging at officers with a knife when he was shot. Two days later, then-police commissioner Danielle Outlaw backtracked, admitting that those claims were wrong.

Body-worn camera footage shows Irizarry seated in his car as officers approach. Footage from a nearby resident’s security camera shows two officers approach Irizarry’s car as they shout for him to show his hands before firing into the driver’s side window. That video shows just five seconds elapse between the police car pulling up and the officer’s final shot.

McMonigle’s request for a change in venue could mean moving the trial to a location outside of Philadelphia, or bringing in an out-of-town jury to hear the case in the city. That request will be part of what is expected to be a string of pretrial motions in the case.