Eddie Irizarry Jr.
Philly Riots
Johnny Hollman
Safe Stop is Stupid
1. Eddie Irizarry Jr. OIS
On August 14, 2023 twenty-seven year old Eddie Irizarry Jr. was involved in a fatal Officer-Involved-Shooting (OIS) with Philadelphia police.
Officers Mark Dial and Michael Morris were on patrol and had been following a vehicle driven by Mr. Irizarry that was allegedly driving in a reckless manner. Mr. Irizarry eventually turned the wrong way down a one-way street and a traffic stop was initiated.
Upon contact Mr. Irizarry remained in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and armed himself with a knife. The knife had a black handle.
Officer Dial fired six rounds as he approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and Mr. Irizarry sustained a fatal injury. Officer Dial claimed that he believed that Mr. Irizarry was armed with a firearm.
Officer Dial was charged with murder. All charged were dismissed by Philadelphia Municipal Judge Wendy Pew this week after she watched the body camera video and heard arguments from attorneys.
The District Attorney's Office had said following the decision that they would be filing an appeal. A motion to reinstate the charges against Officer Dial was filed Tuesday afternoon.
If you watch the body cam footage as a stand alone single piece of evidence - this OIS does not appear to be objectively reasonable. This is precisely the danger of basing an aggressive opinion on a solitary short video.
The reasonableness of the perception of the officer at the exact moment of the OIS is relevant in a court of law.
2. Riots in Philadelphia
Following the dismissal of the charges against Officer Dial - maniacs and criminals descended upon the city of Philadelphia. Businesses were destroyed and looted. Because, obviously, Apple and Lululemon are to blame for the actions of police officers and the legal opinion of a judge.
Something tells me that stealing expensive yoga pants has nothing to do with some vague notion of ‘police brutality’. And, even if a police officer did commit a crime or make a mistake during a stressful situation - rioting mobs terrorizing the city will only ensure more use of force by police officers who are tasked with maintaining order.
Over fifty people were arrested by police. Including a loud, fat moronic social media influencer called “Meatball”.
What fucking idiots. All of them. Where’s Kyle Ritttenhouse when you need him?
3. Johnny Hollman
On August 10, 2023 sixty-two year old Johnny Hollman was driving home from Bible study when he was involved in a minor traffic accident. Atlanta police arrived on scene and Officer Kimbrough issued Mr. Hollman a traffic citation. Mr. Hollman allegedly refused to sign the traffic ticket and that left the officer no choice but to arrest Mr. Hollman.
According to Atlanta Police, Mr. Hollman resisted arrest and force was utilized by police. That use of force included a Taser application.
Mr. Hollman was eventually handcuffed, became unresponsive, and died.
The Hollman family has been shown portions of the body cam video of the incident. But, the footage has not been made public. The family has been calling for the city to release all of the available footage.
The paradigm of being arrested for refusing to sign a citation is silly. However, unfortunately it is law and policy in many jurisdictions - leaving police officers no choice.
If people refuse to sign a citation - they should be issued a summons for the offenses. Once in court if they dispute that they were not the involved party - I guess that’s what body cam footage is for.
I am a huge advocate for the quick release of (nearly) all police body cam footage. Transparency in government is essential to maintain trust in the institution of policing.
The exception is for cases that are still being investigated. If the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is still actively investigating this case (which the family should want them to do, thoroughly) and witnesses are still being interviewed - the footage should not be made public —- yet. Then once the investigation is complete - the entirety of the footage should be released.
For more info and a great article on issues related to police body cams check out a recent article by Roland Clee at
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What I do know is that if Mr. Hollman simply signed the citation and fought this is court - he would still be alive.
That is my preferred outcome.
4. Safe Stop
At the risk of sounding like an old salty cop - Safe Stop is a bad idea.
Safe Stop is technology that allows a citizen to make initial contact with a police officer upon being pulled over via cell phone app - instead of face to face.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is testing this in a pilot program within the jurisdiction of the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station.
It is simply too annoying for me to explain further - so read the article by Police1 who employ far more patient writers.
This is the politicians who run the Sheriff’s Department admitting that the citizens in their jurisdiction do not know how to behave like reasonable adults during traffic stops.
Say that you think the people in your area are shitheads - without saying that they are shitheads.
If you cannot exhibit basic human decency on traffic stop - we should not enable that behavior with technology.
The soft bigotry of low expectations.
Your points on Safe Stop are right on. This is an initiative based on fear by the administration. It will disincentivize officers to conduct traffic stops and reduce investigative opportunities.