Former Philadelphia Police Officer Edsaul Mendoza was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder in the 2022 killing of 12-year-old Thomas “TJ” Siderio.
The shooting happened on March 1, 2022, in South Philadelphia after four plainclothes Philadelphia police officers in an unmarked vehicle attempted to stop Siderio and another teenager near 18th and Barbara streets. Authorities said Siderio fired a shot at the unmarked police vehicle, injuring one officer with broken glass, before running away.
What made the case against Mendoza so damning was what prosecutors said happened next. According to the grand jury presentment, Siderio had discarded the gun before Mendoza fired the fatal shot. The presentment said Siderio was no longer armed, had stopped running, and was on or near the ground when Mendoza shot him in the back at close range.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced charges against Mendoza in May 2022, including first-degree murder, third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and possession of an instrument of crime. The case stood out because it involved a police officer being criminally charged for an on-duty shooting after prosecutors said video, audio, physical evidence, and witness accounts contradicted Mendoza’s version of events.
In April 2024, Mendoza pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime as part of a plea deal. The first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter charges were dropped under that agreement.
On July 22, 2024, Mendoza was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison for the murder charge, with an additional sentence of six months to one year for the possession offense. Members of Siderio’s family publicly expressed frustration with the sentence, saying they believed Mendoza should have faced harsher punishment.
The case also continued outside criminal court. In 2025, the Associated Press reported that Siderio’s family agreed to a $3 million settlement with the City of Philadelphia. The settlement did not erase what happened, but it added another official acknowledgment of the catastrophic failure that ended with a 12-year-old child dead on a Philadelphia street.
Mendoza was not simply accused of making a split-second mistake. He admitted to murder. A child ran, discarded a gun, ended up on the ground, and was shot in the back by a police officer who was supposed to be trained, restrained, and accountable. That is exactly why this case belongs in the record.
