3 officers charged in shooting death of 8-year-old girl
Source: AP
By CLAUDIA LAUER
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Three police officers have been charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment after firing their weapons in the direction of a crowd of people exiting a high school football game outside of Philadelphia, killing an 8-year-old girl and injuring three people.
A grand jury recommended the charges against the three Sharon Hill Police officers, Devon Smith, Sean Dolan and Brian Devaney, in the August 27 shooting that killed Fanta Bility. Murder charges previously filed against two Black teenagers for firing the gunshots that prompted the officers to shoot were also dropped Tuesday, according to a news release from the Delaware County District Attorney’s office.
Each officer was charged with 10 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, according the to the charging documents.
According to court records all three men had their preliminary arraignments Tuesday morning and each was released on unsecured $500,000 bail. A message left with law firm McMonagle, Perri, McHugh, Mischak & Davis, which is representing all three men, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
FILE - Protesters call for police accountability in the death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility who was shot outside a football game, at the Delaware County Courthouse in Media, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Three police officers have been charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment after firing their weapons into a crowd of people exiting a high school football game outside of Philadelphia, killing Bility and injuring three people. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sports-philadelphia-reckless-endangerment-football-high-school-football-344524199dd37b446bb92fc09dbc55ea
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By Jim Melwert, KYW Newsradio
KYW Newsradio
Updated on 22 minutes ago
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Three Sharon Hill police officers have been charged in the deadly shooting of an 8-year-old girl outside a high school football game in Delaware County last August. The police officers are each charged with voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and 10 counts each of recklessly endangering another person.
Those officers are 34-year-old Devon Smith, 25-year-old Sean Dolan, and 41-year-old Brian Devaney. The three were arraigned Tuesday morning. They are out on $500,000 unsecured bail. The Sharon Hill Police Department is expected to release a statement regarding things like the employment status of those officers. The attorneys representing the officers have not spoken publicly yet.
The charges come after a lengthy Grand Jury investigation. Fanta Bility, age 8, was shot and killed outside an Academy Park football game on Aug. 27. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer says one of the most important things right now is trying to move forward as a community and understanding that this is a series of seriously tragic events. The DA's office says two teens got in an argument at the game, and, after the game ended, they fired shots at each other.
The police officers opened fire in response to those shots. Four people were hit by gunfire, include the 8-year-old. The two teens were charged with murder, as the DA’s office says their actions led to the little girl’s death, but those charges, at request of the DA's office, have been withdrawn. They are facing other charges, including attempted homicide. Stollsteimer says one of the teens has already accepted responsibility for aggravated assault.
https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/news/local/sharon-hill-officers-charged-shooting-death-girl-fanta
