New Surveillance Video Contradicts Initial Narrative in Fatal Police Shooting Case
PHILADELPHIA – The attorney representing the family of a 27-year-old man who was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer last Monday has released new surveillance video that contradicts the initial narrative provided by the police.
According to the police, officers had given multiple commands to the man to drop a weapon while he was outside his vehicle. However, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw later stated that the shooting occurred while the man was inside the vehicle, based on body-worn camera footage.
Surveillance video from a local resident provides a birds-eye view of the incident. It shows the man, Eddie Irizarry, parking his car before a police vehicle pulls up to the passenger side of his car a few seconds later in a narrow residential street.
The video shows an officer exiting the patrol vehicle and pulling out a firearm as he approaches Irizarry’s car, yelling for him to show his hands. Approximately five seconds later, the officer fires his gun multiple times, with at least one shot striking Irizarry’s front windshield. The officer is heard shouting for Irizarry to drop the knife.
As the officer runs over to Irizarry, who is seated in the driver’s seat, Irizarry is seen pulling up the driver’s side window before the officer shoots into the vehicle. The officer then recoils and runs back toward his patrol car.
Both officers responding to the scene attempt to open Irizarry’s locked car doors. Eventually, they are able to drag him out of the vehicle and place him into the patrol car.
“The narrative that he was out (of) the car, lunging at police, didn’t really comport with what our eyes saw from the very beginning,” said Irizarry family attorney Shaka Johnson. The family was waiting for the release of the body camera footage to reconcile what they saw in the surveillance video with the initial police report.
The family and their attorney reached out to the neighborhood, asking for any surveillance footage or doorbell camera footage from the day and time of the incident. They acquired this footage themselves, as they have not yet seen the footage from the body cameras.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has rescinded an invitation to the family to privately watch the body camera footage, citing an ongoing investigation. However, the family’s attorney has promised to turn over the surveillance footage to all law enforcement agencies involved in the case.
There are questions about who gave the initial information to the public information officer and about the lack of updates and details provided to the family by law enforcement. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office stated that they have been in constant contact with the family’s attorney and are looking forward to meeting them in person.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the District Attorney’s Office is committed to seeking justice for all involved. The family believes that a language barrier may have played a role in the incident, as Irizarry did not speak English well.
Eddie Irizarry had moved to Philadelphia from Puerto Rico seven years ago. The release of the body camera footage is still awaited, as the investigation continues.