The District Attorney of Philadelphia withdrew first-degree murder charges against former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial on Thursday, according to court documents obtained by CNN.
Dial is accused of killing Eddie Irizarry a year ago this month during a traffic stop. Dial was originally charged with first-degree murder as well as other charges, but soon after the case was thrown out by a local Philadelphia judge and the defendant walked free.
Then a month later, a Common Pleas Court judge reinstated the charges and the case proceeded, with Dial returning to jail.
The case was notable in that police initially told reporters Irizarry “lunged at the officers” while outside his vehicle, only to later admit that video disproved that assertion.
According to the initial police statement, two officers saw a man driving erratically, and when the man pulled into a parking spot, they approached the vehicle. Seconds later, one of the officers fatally shot Irizarry.
Police initially told reporters that the officers gave the man multiple commands to drop a weapon while he was outside his vehicle and that Irizarry had lunged at the officers.
However, two days later, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the shooting happened while Irizarry was inside the vehicle, citing body worn camera footage. The video “made it very clear what we initially reported was not actually what happened,” Outlaw said.
At a scheduling conference Thursday, the DA’s office withdrew the first-degree murder charge, according to court documents.
Dial remains charged with third-degree murder and several other felonies related to Irizarry’s killing.
When asked by CNN why the first-degree murder charge was dropped, a spokesperson for the DA’s office said, “We are not permitted to comment on this case per the court.”
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, prosecutors “were effectively forced to (drop the first-degree murder charge) by a judge after failing to tell Dial’s attorneys about a key piece of evidence they intend to use against him at trial.”
The evidence — per the Inquirer — centers around an expert witness who prepared a report for prosecutors.
Now that the first-degree murder charges have been withdrawn, Dial is eligible for bail.
CNN has reached out to Dial’s attorneys for comment and confirmation if Dial intends to post bail.
CNN’s Jessica Xing and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.
