Former Philly officer, who shot and killed 12-year-old boy, gets 8 to 20 years in prison

A former Philadelphia police officer has been sentenced to serve 8 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting and killing a 12-year-old boy, who was unarmed and on the ground, on March 1, 2022.

On Monday, former Philadelphia police officer Edsaul Mendoza, 28, was sentenced for his role in the death of 12-year-old Thomas “T.J.” Siderio.

Mendoza, a five-year veteran of the force, pleaded to third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of a crime earlier this year as part of a plea deal with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

According to court documents, Mendoza was sentenced to serve eight to 20 years in prison on the murder charge along with an additional six months to a year in prison on the possession offense.

Charges of first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter in the Siderio's death were dropped as part of this deal.

Siderio's family expressed mixed feelings about the sentencing.

"I feel like sick like they slapped me in my face this guy should’ve been in jail for... life," said Thomas James, the boy's grandfather, after the sentence was announced.

“That's why I told everybody, everyone needs to be forgiven ok?” Shawn Lauder, the victim’s uncle said. “Yes, I told him that he needs to be forgiven while he’s in jail. You know to start reading his word, start praying. Yes, you better believe I forgive him.”

Following the sentencing, the officer's family declined to talk to NBC10's Miguel Martinez-Valle. In court, however, they said the former officer feels remorse everyday following the boy's death.

The events that led to Thomas "TJ" Siderio's death

Siderio was killed after, police claim, he fired a shot from a stolen handgun at an unmarked police vehicle, injuring one of the officers.

Officials have said that Siderio fired a weapon at the vehicle after he and an unnamed 17-year-old were confronted by the officers who were conducting a gun investigation in the area of 18th and Barbara streets around 7:24 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.

The officers noticed one of the boys, the 17-year-old, was wanted in a gun investigation, police officials said in the past.

Around the same time the officers turned their red and blue lights on in an effort to stop the teens, a shot came through the back passenger window and ricocheted around the car, officials said.

One officer was treated for injuries to his eye and face caused by broken glass.

Two officers then got out and opened fire, initially missing the boy, police said.

As he fled, Siderio threw a gun down about 40 feet before he was shot and then dropped to the ground, either tripping or obeying a command to get down, officials said.

Mendoza gave chase down the city block and fired two more rounds.

One of the bullets hit Siderio in the right side of his back as he lay facedown on the ground and it exited through the left side of his chest, officials said.

A lawsuit that the family filed against Medoza and the City of Philadelphia notes that Siderio “was essentially facedown on the sidewalk” and “in a position similar to a push-up" at the time he was shot and killed.

Police had initially said Siderio was holding a gun as he ran away. But, members of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office have said that there were several indications Mendoza knew Siderio had already dropped the gun and was down on the ground before he shot the boy.

Mendoza was fired a few weeks after the shooting.