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On Thursday, three former Sharon Hill police officers pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in the death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility. That result came more than a year after months of protests by Fanta’s family and community activists demanding accountability for the boy’s death.
Here are some facts of the case:
Fanta was the daughter of immigrants from West Africa and moved to Delaware County in 2004, fleeing civil war in her native Liberia. Her loved ones described her as an energetic, happy child who loved to draw, dance and share everything she had with her friends and family.
On August 27, 2021, Fanta joined her mother and their family on a trip to Academy Park High School, where they planned to watch her older sister Mawata perform as a cheerleader for the first time. The school’s football team was playing Pennsbury in a pre-season exhibition game.
Three Sharon Hill police officers were assigned to monitor spectators leaving the stadium after shots were fired at a Chevrolet Impala that stopped abruptly in front of them. The officers — Brian Devaney, Sean Dolan and Devon Smith — were responding to a shooting a block away.
Police said at the time officers believed the shots were fired from a car and that it was aimed at them. They fired 25 times at the vehicle, some of which missed and hit four people, including Fanta.
A grand jury was appointed to investigate the shooting. Although all three officers declined to testify, their colleagues said the officers’ initial belief about the shooting was wrong.
The shooting came from two teenagers, Angelo “AJ” Ford and Hassan Strand, who had confronted each other nearby.
While the grand jury concluded that the officers were responsible for Fanta’s death, it was unclear who fired the fatal shot because the bullet that struck Fanta was too damaged to identify a specific gun.
Initially, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteemer charged Ford and Strand with murder based on a legal principle known as transferred intent. He said their actions triggered a chain of events that led directly to Fanta’s death.
However, amid public outcry, those charges were dropped and replaced with brutal attacks. Strand pleaded guilty and served 32 to 64 months in state prison. Ford remains on the run after escaping from a juvenile detention center in western Pennsylvania.
That same day, three former officers were charged with manslaughter, reckless endangerment and related crimes, as recommended by the grand jury.
Sharon Hill Borough Council fired them in a 6-1 vote just days after criminal charges were filed against them.
The three officers, who pleaded guilty Thursday, are expected to be sentenced later this year by Delaware County Court Judge Margaret Amoroso.
Fanta’s family has filed a federal lawsuit against the three officers and the Sharon Hill Police Department. The case was put on hold following a criminal investigation. Now it will go ahead.
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