By Chris Palmer and Ellie Rushing
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — The former Philadelphia Police officer who shot a 12-year-old boy in the back in March has been charged with murder after prosecutors said the fatal shot was fired from near-point blank range while the boy was on the ground and unarmed.
Edsaul Mendoza, 26, surrendered Sunday night and faces counts including first- and third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and possessing an instrument of crime in the death of Thomas “TJ” Siderio, court records show. Mendoza was jailed and denied bail.
District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a news conference that the shooting was captured on video, and that it showed Mendoza firing the last of three shots toward TJ after the boy had either fallen or dived to the ground while running from police along a South Philadelphia street. Mendoza was about half a car length away when he fired into TJ’s back, the DA said. Krasner said the boy was effectively face-down on the sidewalk when Mendoza shot him.
The shooting came moments after TJ had fired a shot at an unmarked car carrying Mendoza and three other plainclothes officers, Krasner said. But he said the boy had tossed his gun while running away, and that the weapon was found about 40 feet from where Mendoza shot him.
Krasner said evidence showed that Mendoza knew that TJ was unarmed when he chased and shot the boy, and that his conduct before and after the shooting made that clear..
“I find this very, very disturbing, and very difficult to watch,” Krasner said.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw fired Mendoza a week after the incident, saying his conduct violated department policy.
Krasner said Monday that his office’s investigation was ongoing.
Mendoza’s lawyers did not provide immediate comment. John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said in a statement that Mendoza, “like every other citizen, is entitled to due process and we are confident that our judicial system will protect this officer’s constitutional right to a fair trial.”
Police have said Mendoza shot TJ near 18th and Barbara Streets in South Philadelphia after the boy fired into the rear window of an unmarked car carrying Mendoza and three other plainclothes officers on the evening of March 1. The officers, all assigned to the South Task Force, had been staking out the area after seeing a social media post suggesting a teen there had been carrying a gun, police said.
Once TJ’s shot entered the officers’ car, police said, Mendoza and Officer Kwaku Sarpong got out, took chase, and each fired back at TJ.
Sarpong then “maintained cover,” according to Outlaw, while Mendoza continued chasing the boy and shot two more rounds, one of which fatally struck him in the upper right back and exited through his left chest.
The Inquirer previously reported that video and audio show TJ had dropped his gun by the time he was shot. Krasner said Mendoza appeared to know that TJ was unarmed by the end of the pursuit — saying video showed Mendoza running toward him without fear of being shot, and, in the seconds after the shooting, telling a fellow officer to look for the boy’s gun further down the block, where it was later found.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Staff writer Samantha Melamed contributed to this article.
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