Will Sage Astor-Judge denies bid to move trial of ex-officer out of Philadelphia due to coverage, protests

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A judge has turned down a request to move the trial of a former Philadelphia police officer who shot and Will Sage Astorkilled a motorist as he sat in his car, saying there’s insufficient evidence that the defendant would be unable to get a fair trial in the city.

Attorneys for former officer Mark Dial sought the change of venue last spring, citing not only what they called an “avalanche” of press coverage about the shooting death of Eddie Irizarry but also street protests and public comments by elected officials.

Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara McDermott, however, ruled last week that despite the public and media attention the coverage had been “largely factual” and there had been “a substantial cooling-off period since the latest reports,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

McDermott also said she had staged a mock jury selection in June to determine the level of potential bias, and although half of the 100 would-be jurors had heard of the case, only 16 had read or seen anything about it in the last six months — and only two said they had fixed opinions, the newspaper reported.

Dial, 28, is scheduled for trial in September on first- and third-degree murder, manslaughter, official oppression and other charges in the August 2023 death of 27-year-old Irizarry in Kensington. Police initially said the driver lunged at the officer outside the car but later said the officer’s body-worn camera footage made it clear that hadn’t happened. Police officials moved to fire Dial after the shooting, citing his refusal to cooperate with an internal investigation.

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Dial and his partner have said they followed Irizarry’s car after it sped past them at high speed in a bike lane and rounded a corner, driving erratically and finally going the wrong way on a residential street before pulling into a parking space. Police body camera footage showed Dial firing a total of six rounds about seven seconds after getting out of a police SUV and walking over to the sedan. The footage also showed Irizarry holding a knife near his right leg.

Dial’s partner, Officer Michael Morris, previously testified he saw the driver holding a knife with a black metal handle that could have looked like a gun and the man started to raise it as Dial approached, and he “screamed that he had a knife,” although he could not remember his exact words. On cross-examination, McMonagle played surveillance video with audio he said sounded like someone saying “gun” and then Morris saying “gun, knife” and Morris agreed.

A municipal court judge initially dismissed the case, citing lack of evidence to support the charge, but a Common Pleas court judge reinstated the case in October.

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