What to Know
- Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, on Wednesday, provided few new details but acknowledged a discrepancy in the initial report after 27-year-old Eddie Jose Irizarry was killed by police on Monday.
- Irizarry was shot to death by a police officer while he was seated in a car in the city's Kensington neighborhood on Monday afternoon. His family claims he was shot six times.
- Police initially said Irizarry was armed with knives, was outside the car and had "lunged at" officers before he was shot. New information noted he instead was seated inside the vehicle and "turned" toward an officer before the shooting. Police also said they spotted two knives in the car.
Law enforcement officials provided an update and acknowledged a discrepancy in their initial report after police shot and killed a 27-year-old man in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood on Monday.
Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Danielle Outlaw provided few new details late Wednesday morning however, as the officer who pulled the trigger on Monday has not yet been interviewed by police.
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She also noted that initial police information on the shooting was inaccurate.
“I understand and want to acknowledge the hurt and confusion that family and community members can experience when details of investigations change and especially when they change in the very public way that this has occurred. In the name of transparency, I strive for our department to release as much detail as possible when we can do so without damaging the integrity of the investigation," Outlaw said. "That is why we preface all of our releases by stating that information is preliminary and subject to change. At the time we gave that information, that was the best information that we had available. And we always strive to clarify and update that information as quickly and accurately as possible. That’s what we’re doing here today.”
Outlaw recounted known details in the death of Eddie Jose Irizarry, who was killed by police officers after he was stopped for driving erratically through Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood at about 12:28 p.m. on Monday.
At that time, officers followed his vehicle as it headed the wrong way along the 100 block of E. Willard Street, before coming to a stop, according to Outlaw.
When officers approached Irizarry's vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, Outlaw said that an officer approached and attempted to open the passenger door of the car, when his partner alerted him that Irizarry was armed.
As Irizarry turned, the officer at the passenger door fired "multiple times" and Irizarry was hit "several" times -- though, his family said he was hit six times.
Outlaw said that officials are not yet certain whether Irizarry knew he was being followed by police or if officers told the man anything before he was shot.
Initially, police officials said that Irizarry was outside of the vehicle while armed with a knife and had lunged at police before he was shot. Police revised this information to note that he was instead inside the car and simply turned when he was killed.
Irizarry was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:48 p.m. Monday, officials said.
Outlaw said investigators knew their initial story was not accurate after watching body camera footage from the officers on the scene.
"The body worn camera footage made it very clear that what we initially reported was not actually what happened," she said.
Law enforcement officials also claimed two knives "were observed inside the vehicle." On Wednesday, officials said these were a serrated folding knife and some type of kitchen knife.
However, Outlaw noted that the officer that killed Irizarry has not yet been interviewed by officials.
Officials said that the officer has 72 hours after a shooting incident in order to obtain counsel before they must be interviewed by investigators.
"There are questions as to how this was handled tactically," she noted.
Outlaw said an investigation is ongoing and the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.
During Wednesday's press conference, Outlaw addressed the issue of establishing trust between police and the community amid discrepancies in reports.
“It’s a challenge. You know the question is how do we reestablish the trust. Sometimes I feel like we take 20 steps forward and it just takes one incident, we take, you know, 50 steps backward," Outlaw said. "And I’m hoping that our efforts in being transparent is at least a first step in that. I understand the reticence. I understand folks not really being sure whether or not they should even trust what we’re saying today because of what we said initially. But I’m hoping that they see that this is a genuine effort to do everything that we can to share what we know when we have it as we receive it.”
NBC10's Miguel Martinez-Valle spoke with Irizarry's family. They said his primary language was Spanish and that he didn't understand or speak English well. They also said he had a mental health illness.
While the family acknowledged that he carried around a small pocket knife, they don't believe police should have killed him.
"You could taze him," the man's aunt, Zoraida Garcia, said. "But to shoot him six times? They literally told us he got shot six times. What did he have on him that you felt threatened? You know? Was he coming towards you with a knife? You know? If that's the case, but six times? You could've shot him in his leg. But you shot and killed him."
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