Three terminated police officers have been sentenced to five years of probation, with 11 months on house arrest, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges in the shooting death of an 8-year-old child near Philadelphia.
In August 2021, the officers mistook the vehicle of spectators leaving a football game for one involved in gunfire and negligently fired 25 shots at it. In total, four people were shot.
On Friday, Deputy District Attorney Doug Rhoads told Delaware County Court of Common Pleas that the officers displayed a “horrible amount of recklessness,” even if it was unintentional.
An agreement was reached in November which dismissed manslaughter charges filed against Brian Devaney, Devon Smith, and Sean Dolan after they pleaded guilty to 10 counts of reckless endangerment.
So far, authorities have not been able to determine which officer fired the shot that killed Fanta Bility.
According to the family, they’re still grieving in various ways.
However, in court, they accepted the officers’ apologies and extended forgiveness, hugging the three men and wishing them well.
“We forgive, but we will not forget Fanta Bility,” said the mother, Tenneh Kromah.
Currently, the family has a pending federal lawsuit, but they don’t believe the case fits the national narrative about race and policing that has been building since 2020.
“This isn’t about blue lives or Black lives, this is about Fanta’s life, and that her life mattered,” Rhoads said on behalf of the family.
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