Eddie Irizarry

Bail revoked for cop who killed man in Kensington

Suspended Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial is in custody after his bail was revoked. He has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Eddie Irizarry

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Bail for Philadelphia Police officer Mark Dial has been revoked and he is now in police custody.

At a Tuesday afternoon hearing, Dial's bail was revoked after prosecutors argued that giving the officer the opportunity to avoid imprisonment before his trial was unconstitutional.

He was out on bail after being charged with murder in the shooting death of Eddie Irizarry, who was shot and killed on Aug. 14 during a traffic stop in the city's Kensington neighborhood.

The 27-year-old Dial was charged -- and surrendered to police -- on Sept. 8 and he immediately posted 10-percent of $500,000 bail in order to secure his release.

However, Dial returned to police custody after bail in his case was considered unconstitutional.

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NBC10's Rosemary Connors was in the courtroom Tuesday and said that Dial will be housed in Philadelphia County and a preliminary hearing is currently set for Sept. 26.

"We’re obviously disappointed that he is in custody and we have every expectation that he’ll be out of custody as soon as we have a preliminary hearing," Dial's defense attorney Brian McMonagle said.

Connors said after bail was revoked, representatives from the families of both Dial and Irizarry broke into tears.

"Today, justice was made for now and he is behind bars and we are thankful and happy that he is," Ana Clinton, the aunt of Eddie Irizarry said.

According to the state's Constitution, bail is typically prohibited in Pennsylvania for capital offenses -- like murder -- or for "offenses for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment."

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's office cited the state Constitution in court documents to argue that Dial's bail should be revoked.

In fact, prosecutors have already appealed the $1 million bail that was initially set for Dial, only for his bail to be lowered to $500,000.

Currently, Dial has been suspended from the force for 30 days with intent to fire.

Barring any change to that determination, Dial would be fired from the city's police force by the end of this week.

The officer is facing murder charges after he killed the 27-year-old Irizarry after stopping him for driving erratically in Kensington. In body camera footage released following the killing, Dial can be seen firing a number of shots into a parked vehicle that Irizarry was in, just moments after Dial approached the car.

Dial's last words to Irizarry before pulling the trigger were, "I'll f***ing shoot you."

As shown in the bodycam footage, Irizarry never had a chance to speak to officers before he was killed.

Initially, Philadelphia police reported that Irizarry -- armed with a knife -- lunged at officers before he was shot. That series of events was later proven false and was revised after police admitted that Irizarry never left his car.

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