PHILADELPHIA — The former Philadelphia Police officer who fatally shot a 12-year-old boy in the back in March has been charged with murder.
Edsaul Mendoza, who was fired over the shooting of Thomas “TJ” Siderio, surrendered Sunday night and faces counts including first- and third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and possessing an instrument of crime, court records show. He was jailed and denied bail.
District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office declined to comment Monday morning but scheduled a news conference to discuss the case.
Police have said Mendoza shot TJ near 18th and Barbara Streets in South Philadelphia after the boy fired a shot 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 Commissioner Danielle 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 has previously reported that video and audio show TJ had dropped his gun by the time he was shot.
Outlaw fired Mendoza a week after the shooting, saying he’d violated department policy during the incident.
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(Staff writer Samantha Melamed contributed to this article.)
