A former Philadelphia police officer accused of fatally shooting a fleeing 12-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, officials said Friday.
Edsaul Mendoza, 28, was charged with first- and third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of Thomas “T.J.” Siderio in March 2022.
The young boy was killed after a chase in South Philadelphia. Police initially said Mendoza and three other plainclothes officers were investigating a post seen on social media about a teenager with a gun, when the boy shot at their car, injuring one of the officers.
However, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office later said video evidence contradicted Mendoza’s version of events.
Mendoza was accused of chasing the boy on foot, firing twice and striking the boy once in the back from what prosecutors described as “relatively close range.”
Mendoza, who had been with the PPD for five years, was fired a week after the shooting for violating department policy. He was also arrested and charged with the boy’s murder.
As part of a plea deal with the attorney’s office, Mendoza also pleaded guilty to possession of an instrument of crime.
He could face up to 40 years in prison when he’s sentenced on July 22.
“While this plea cannot bring T.J. back, we hope it will signal the close of a painful chapter his family and the community has experienced,” the Philadelphia Police Oversight Commission said in a statement Friday evening.
The agency, whose mission is to oversee and investigate PPD’s conduct, policies, and practices, added that while the shooting occurred more than two years ago, “it is important to note that it has been two years of birthdays, holidays and memories without T.J.”
Earlier this year, the victim’s family sued Mendoza, claiming he died as the result of “an abysmal systemic policy failure” within the PPD.
With News Wire Services
