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Three former Pennslyvania officers who were charged in the killing of an 8-year-old girl hit by a stray bullet outside of a high school football game have pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment as part of a plea deal, NBC News reports.
On Thursday (November 10), ex-Sharon Hill police officers Brian Devaney, 41; Devon Smith; 34 and; Sean Dolan, 25, had their manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter charges dropped and in exchange pleaded guilty to 10 counts of reckless endangerment in the 2021 shooting death of Fanta Bility.
The plea deal was negotiated in consultation with the Bility family, who sought to end the case to begin the healing process, prosecutors said.
“The agony we feel constantly re-living the loss of our dear Fanta, who was just 8 years old when she was killed by Sharon Hill police officers, is impossible to describe with words,” Bility’s uncle Abu Bility said in a statement, noting the trauma her mother and siblings went through as they witnessed the shooting.
“After much prayer and discussion with our family, we determined that it was in our best interest for the district attorney to ensure that the police officers take responsibility for their actions, admit to their reckless conduct endangering many, and killing our Fanta,” he said.
The shooting unfolded in August 2021 after two teenagers opened fire outside of the football game near Philadelphia International Airport and fled the scene. Officers heard shots and believed the gunfire had come from a car driving towards them.
Devaney, Smith, and Dolan fired 25 shots at the car and a crowd of people exiting the game, leaving four wounded and Bility dead.
Ballistics testing couldn't conclude which officer fired the fatal shot, but a grand jury recommended that they all face charges. Days after the recommendation, the three were fired from the Sharon Hill Borough Police Department.
The former officers remain free on bail as they await their sentence hearing, which is scheduled for January 2023.
“Fanta’s death was a tragedy for her family, her friends, and for the entire community — and nothing that happened in the courtroom today can lessen the grief that we have all felt since that terrible night,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement.
The Bility family has also moved to sue Dolan, Devaney, Smith, and the Sharon Hill Borough Police Department.
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