Key takeaways:
- Three former Sharon Hill police officers have been sentenced to five years of probation, with the first 11 months of it on house arrest, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges in the death of an 8-year-old girl.
- An investigation found that the officers had negligently fired 25 shots at a car they mistakenly thought was involved in gunfire that had broken out a block away.
- Fanta Bility’s family has spoken out following the sentencing, expressing their disappointment with the outcome and calling for changes to police training and protocols to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
Three former Sharon Hill police officers have been sentenced to five years of probation, with the first 11 months of it on house arrest, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges in the death of an 8-year-old girl.
Fanta Bility was killed when the officers opened fire outside a high school football game near Philadelphia in August 2021. An investigation found that the officers had negligently fired 25 shots at a car they mistakenly thought was involved in gunfire that had broken out a block away as spectators left the game.
Four people were hit by police gunfire that sped past the car. Deputy District Attorney Doug Rhoads said in Delaware County Court of Common Pleas that the officers had displayed a “horrible amount of recklessness”, even if the outcome was unintentional.
The three former officers, Brian Devaney, Devon Smith and Sean Dolan, had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of involuntary manslaughter.
Fanta Bility’s family has spoken out following the sentencing, expressing their disappointment with the outcome. They said that the sentence was not enough to bring justice for their daughter’s death. They also called for changes to police training and protocols to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
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