Eddie Irizarry laid to rest; Philadelphia police prepare to fire officer who shot him
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Eddie Irizarry was laid to rest Thursday, more than a week after he was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer while sitting in his car.
The 27-year-old, called "Junito" by his family, came to the U.S. seven years ago from Puerto Rico and was working as a mechanic, his family has said.
A viewing and celebration of life are happening Thursday morning at a North Philadelphia church. Following the funeral, Irizarry was laid to rest at a cemetery in Tacony.
Mark Dial, the officer who police said shot Irizarry, will be suspended for 30 days with intent to dismiss for administrative reasons, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Wednesday.
Outlaw said Dial refused to obey orders from a superior officer and failed to cooperate with the department's investigation.
Police said on Aug. 14, Dial shot Irizarry as he sat in his car on Willard Street in Kensington. Surveillance video of the incident released by attorneys for Irizarry's family showed Dial opened fire seconds after exiting a Philadelphia police cruiser next to Irizarry.
Irizarry's family says they will continue to fight for justice on his behalf.
"I know he's no longer with us but we don't want his name to go in vain," Aunt Ana Cintron said. "He would do anything. He was not afraid just dig in and he'll figure it out. Whatever was wrong with a car he would figure it out. He did not deserve this. This is not what traffic stops should come to. Ever."
But they're not the only ones looking for answers.
"We are angry. We are concerned and we are asking for justice," Charito Morales said.
Morales, a community activist with Philly Boricuas, says the community has been shocked by this shooting. Now, they're looking for city leaders to step up and rebuild trust with people of the city.
"Yes, we want police in the community. But we also want to understand why this happened and why this continues happening and can we do something about it," Morales said.
The surveillance video from the neighborhood contradicted initial police accounts that Irizarry was outside of his car and "lunged" at officers. Police changed their account of the shooting the next day after reviewing body camera footage and said Irizarry was inside his car, not outside it. The body camera footage has yet to be released.
Shaka Johnson, an attorney for Irizarry's family, praised Outlaw for making those corrections but says firing Dial is not enough.
"What they wanted to hear and what would've been appropriate and respectful to the decedent is, 'he was fired for perhaps these policy violations and for killing one of you, John Q. Citizen,'" Johnson said.
"It's not lost upon me that a family lost a loved one," Outlaw said Wednesday. "As parents, we don't want to bury our children...we all understand that there's a family that's grieving. And again, we're not being tight-lipped to be hard or cold, we're doing this because we want to ensure that whatever justice looks like is done in the cleanest way."
Family members say Thursday's funeral does not mark an end for them. They say they'll continue to fight until they get justice for their loved one.
"We will have a march. We're going to protest, peacefully. But we do want to protest," Cintron said.
Morales says they are planning a protest next week outside the district attorney's office. She says while she does have faith in District Attorney Larry Krasner and the justice system, this is a case they will be watching closely.
