Ex-cop Edsaul Mendoza charged with murder for ‘fatally shooting boy, 12, in the back while kid ran away’

Mendoza was fired days after the shooting, when Philadelphia police commissioner Danielle Outlaw determined he had violated use-of-force policy.

He and three other cops in plainclothes were in an unmarked police car when they approached Siderio and another teenager before the fatal confrontation.

According to police, Siderio fired a gun into the police car, injuring one officer, before fleeing.

That's when Mendoza chased him on foot and fired his weapon three times, officials say.

Siderio reportedly dropped his gun after Mendoza fired the second shot, but the ex-cop fired a third time, striking the boy's back,

DA Krasner said the boy's gun was found 40 feet away from where his body was found.

He added that Sidiero was in a push up position looking back toward the officer when he was shot dead.

"Those 40 feet constituted a few parked cars and empty parking spaces. Forty feet is a long way," he said.

"It is certain that Thomas Sidiero, at the time he was shot, had stopped running and that he was possibly surrendering."

According to court documents, Mendoza and the three other officers in the unmarked car were looking for a young men they wanted to speak to regarding a stolen firearm investigation.

Mendoza was taken into custody Sunday night and has been denied bail.

He faces charges of first and third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and possession of an instrument of crime.