Former Philadelphia police officer sentenced to at least 8 years in shooting death of a 12-year-old boy
CNN
A fired Philadelphia police officer who pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy was sentenced Monday to at least eight years in prison.
A fired Philadelphia police officer who pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy was sentenced Monday to at least eight years in prison. Edsaul Mendoza, a five-year veteran of the force who was fired a week after the shooting in 2022, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in April in the shooting of Thomas “T.J.” Siderio. Mendoza said in court that he felt sorrow and regret just before he was sentenced to 8 to 20 years. He originally was charged with first- and third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter but agreed to a plea deal. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney, and exact details of the sentencing provisions weren’t immediately available. Prosecutors said the 12-year-old boy was on the ground and unarmed when Mendoza fired the fatal shot into his back. Police said the youth had first fired a shot at an unmarked police car, injuring one of four plainclothes officers inside. The boy threw a gun down about 40 feet before he was shot and then either tripped or dropped to the ground, according to authorities. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said surveillance video contradicted some of the officer’s statements. That included Mendoza’s account that the boy pointed a gun at him and that he was standing in the street when he fired, rather than almost over him on the sidewalk, according to information prosecutors presented to a grand jury.
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