Family of 12-year-old Thomas Siderio sues city and former Philadelphia officer
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The family of a 12-year-old shot and killed by a former Philadelphia police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city and the officer. Thomas Siderio, the 12-year-old, was shot and killed in South Philadelphia in March 2022.
The lawsuit, which is seeking compensation for wrongful death, claims Edsaul Mendoza killed Siderio "execution style." It also claims systemic failures of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Mendoza faces charges including first-degree and third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.
Before the shooting, Siderio was riding his bike with his 17-year-old friend in the area of 18th and Barbara Streets on March 1 around 7:30 p.m.
Mendoza and three other Philadelphia police officers in an unmarked car and plainclothes tried to stop the two because they claimed the 17-year-old had a stolen firearm that was allegedly posted on Instagram one week before the deadly incident.
As officers got closer, prosecutors said Siderio fired a gun at the officers in the unmarked vehicle and shattered the rear window. The glass shattering injured one officer and Siderio and the 17-year-old fled the scene.
Siderio and the 17-year-old separated after running up the block of 1700 Barbara Street and Medoza started chasing Siderio on Moyamensing Avenue. Siderio ditched the gun during the chase, police said.
Mendoza allegedly fired three shots during the chase. According to the lawsuit, the first shot was fired at the intersection of 18th and Barbara Streets and the second shot was fired after Siderio discarded his firearm. The final fatal shot happened from "less than ten feet away" into Siderio's back while he was "face down on the ground," according to the lawsuit.
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"It is clear, based on witness testimony, crime scene evidence, and audio and video evidence available, that by the time Officer Mendoza fired his second of three shots, [Siderio] did not possess a gun and could not have pointed it at Officer Mendoza," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also claims Mendoza, who was dressed in plainclothes and not a Philadelphia police officer uniform, didn't follow the department's directives before the shooting.
"The officers decided that they would stop the boys while they were in plainclothes and an unmarked car although Philadelphia Police Department directives specifically require that 'police officers in plainclothes and detectives will not routinely make traffic stops unless the actions of the violator are a clear danger to pedestrian or vehicular traffic and no marked unit is readily available,'" the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also alleges that the South Task Force Mendoza worked for within the Philadelphia Police Department were known as "cowboys" and "individuals they arrested frequently thought they were being carjacked, robbed or stalked." The lawsuit also referred to the task force as "The South Task Force Death Squad."
"Prior to the execution of [Siderio], the South Task Force had a reputation in law enforcement circles as a brash and freewheeling group whose members displayed an intense devotion to their jobs and were often found in chaotic situations," the lawsuit alleges.
Back in 2022, the medical examiner's office ruled Siderio's death a homicide.
The lawsuit was filed last month and the Siderio family is being represented by Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky and Clearfield & Kofsky, which are both based in Philadelphia.
