Edsaul Mendoza, 26, a former Philadelphia police officer, has been charged with murder in connection to the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Thomas “TJ” Siderio, per NBC 10.
Mendoza is being held without bail and facing charges of first-degree murder, third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and more. Siderio was shot in the back by on March 1, which violated the Philadelphia Police Department’s use of force directive.
Siderio was spotted with an alleged stolen gun by four plainclothes officers in an unmarked vehicle on March 1, and officers say he shot at them after police lights were activated. District Attorney Larry Krasner said during a news conference that it is “certain” TJ had “stopped running” at the time he was shot.
One of the four officers, who police sources claim was Mendoza, per the Philadelphia Inquirer, chased the Siderio and fatally shot him in the back. The other officers on the scene were Kwaku Sarpong, Robert Cucinelli, and Alexander Camacho.
During a press conference, Krasner pointed to security footage he says proves an officer acknowledged Siderio tossed his gun to the side.
“It’s even more than a statement,” Krasner said. “He says where the gun is, and then he points to where the gun is, and then Comacho walks right over there and yes indeed, that’s where the gun is. The decision to run straight up in a way that shows that Mendoza was not in fear, after the gun was dropped, or being shot. … And then of course, [there’s] an untruthful statement from Mendoza about Mendoza’s location at the time he fired his final two shots is potentially indicative of deception, and of guilty knowledge.”
Mary Siderio, TJ’s great-grandmother, told NBC 10 she’s “happy” with the charges.
“I’m so heartbroken, I can’t sleep,” she said. “None of us can sleep. It’s horrible.”
