World News | Ex-officer Charged with Murder in Shooting of 12-year-old
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A fired Philadelphia police officer has been charged with murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy, who prosecutors said Monday was on the ground and unarmed when the officer fired the fatal shot.
Philadelphia, May 2 (AP) A fired Philadelphia police officer has been charged with murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy, who prosecutors said Monday was on the ground and unarmed when the officer fired the fatal shot.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced first- and third-degree murder charges against former Officer Edsaul Mendoza in the shooting of Thomas “T.J.” Siderio on March 1 after police allege the youth fired a shot at an unmarked police car, injuring one of four plainclothes officers inside.
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Mendoza was also charged with voluntary manslaughter and other charges, according to a grand jury presentment unsealed Monday. He had been suspended from his job March 8 with intent to fire.
Court records show Mendoza surrendered Sunday and was denied bail in a rare move for former law enforcement officers facing charges.
A spokeperson for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 said the union plans to provide an attorney for the officer. Court records showed the public defender's office represented Mendoza at his bail hearing Monday. The defender's association didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
New details of the shooting were revealed in the unsealed grand jury documents Monday, including that Siderio had thrown a gun down about 40 feet before he was shot and that the youth had dropped to the ground, either tripping or obeying a command to get down.
Krasner said the officer crossed between two parked cars and from about a half-car length away, fired the fatal shot.
Krasner said much of the evidence was based on a video that has not been publicly released. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)