A judge sentenced former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial on Thursday to no further prison time after he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for his role in the 2023 killing of Eddie “Junito” Irizarry Jr.
Dial, 29, received a punishment of nine-and-a-half months to two years in prison – well below judicial guidelines, prosecutors said – and was paroled immediately because he was given credit for about 10 months of prior incarceration.
District Attorney Larry Krasner, during a Thursday afternoon news conference, said he was “deeply disappointed” in the sentencing decision, while Irizarry’s family said they have lost faith in the criminal justice system.
“He literally took this life. There was more than enough evidence,” his aunt, Ana Cintron, told reporters outside the courthouse. “He gets to go home again. And what do we have? Now to go to a cemetery and visit Eddie all over again.”
“If it was me and I would’ve committed this crime, it would be years. I would have been doing life in prison,” added another aunt, Zoraida Garcia. “He was a cop, so he gets the OK.”
Dial’s legal team had argued that the officer mistakenly believed Irizarry was armed with a gun before opening fire on him during a traffic stop in Kensington.
“Mark Dial was a dedicated public servant,” defense attorney Brian McMonagle said after the sentencing. “He risked his life every day for perfect strangers. This case, obviously, was a terrible strategy, and, in a big sense, there’s no winners or losers here.
“But the judge did the right thing today. He gave justice to a good man and a great family and a police department that unfortunately has to do some impossible things every day, in the line of fire.”
Dial and his partner, Michael Morris, followed the 27-year-old Irizarry after they allegedly spotted him driving erratically on Aug. 14, 2023. They pulled their police cruiser next to his car after he stopped while traveling the wrong direction on the 100 block of E. Willard Street.
The encounter quickly escalated. Dial walked across the front of Irizarry’s vehicle, and, within seconds, fired multiple shots at close range through the driver’s side window and front windshield. Irizarry died a short time later at Temple University Hospital.
In the hours after the shooting, PPD officials told the press that Irizarry had “lunged at” officers with a knife. Authorities revised that narrative more than 24 hours later, after reviewing evidence showing that Irizarry was seated inside his car with the windows rolled up during the entire exchange.
A pair of knives were discovered inside Irizarry’s car, including one that he was accused of gripping as the officers approached him, according to authorities.
In September 2023, a judge dismissed all charges against Dial, sparking peaceful demonstrations and what authorities described as opportunistic looting. Krasner’s office successfully refiled the case.
Initially charged with first-degree murder, Dial was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in May following a trial, with a jury finding him not guilty of third-degree murder, a more serious offense.
Prosecutors asked Judge Glenn B. Bronson to sentence the ex-officer to five to 10 years in state prison, and Krasner said standard sentencing guidelines call for a minimum of four-and-a-half to six years’ incarceration.
“I mean no disrespect to the court, and I say this sincerely, when I say I am deeply disappointed with his outcome,” Krasner said. “It’s way below the bottom end of the sentencing guidelines.”
Krasner, while acknowledging the independence of judges, added that Bronson is “well known for giving long sentences” and told reporters that Dial’s relatively lenient penalty “really stands out.”
The district attorney went on to say he would take solace in knowing that the conviction means Dial will never again be permitted to serve as a police officer anywhere in the United States or legally own a gun.
Previous DAs, Krasner argued, would never have brought charges against Dial. He discussed fighting against a “caste system,” where rich, famous, and white people, as well as those in law enforcement, fare better when charged with crimes.
“We do not believe in a caste system,” Krasner said. “We do not believe that any group of defendants is above the law or deserves to have better treatment than any other.”
