Ex-Philadelphia officer charged in 12-year-old’s killing pleads guilty

A former Philadelphia police officer who killed a 12-year-old boy and allegedly fired two of the shots during a foot chase after the boy had discarded his gun pleaded guilty to murder Friday, the prosecutors’ office said.

Edsaul Mendoza, 28, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime in the March 1, 2022, death of Thomas “TJ” Siderio, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said.

“Justice must be even-handed. Everyone must be accountable under the law,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement.

A possible sentence was not disclosed. Sentencing was scheduled for July 22.

Mendoza was fired by the Philadelphia Police Department and was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of a crime in May 2022.

A grand jury said in a court document that Mendoza and three other officers, who were on-duty but in plain clothes, stopped Siderio and his 17-year-old friend as they were riding bikes at around 7:30 p.m., after they recognized the 17-year-old as “tangentially connected” to a stolen gun case.

The unmarked police car’s lights were activated, and a shot went off that broke the police car passenger side window.

The boys ran and split up. Mendoza chased Siderio, who had a gun at the time, on foot, according to the grand jury document.