PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A long-anticipated report on the investigation into the police shooting of 8-year-old Fanta Bility in Sharon Hill last summer was released Friday afternoon, but it was heavily redacted — something her family’s attorney calls “unacceptable.”
The 55-page document, posted on the borough's website, summarizes a nine-month investigation into the actions of Sharon Hill police outside the Academy Park High School football game on Aug. 27, 2021.
Related podcast
It was supposed to shed light on the three officers who fired weapons in the direction of gunfire they heard near the game that night as innocent bystanders were exiting.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer has said that decision cost Bility's life.
But it was heavily redacted: 40 of the 55 pages, including key findings and a series of 17 recommendations, were either partially or totally blacked out before the report was posted.
Related
All three officers - Brian Devaney, 42, Sean Dolan, 42, and Devon Smith, 34 - were fired and face both homicide charges and a lawsuit from Bility’s family.
Borough solicitor Courtney Richardson told NBC10 the document was protected by attorney-client confidentiality.
Related
She says it was released in its redacted form to be as transparent as possible at this time, but added there's no timetable for the full report's release.
Attorney Bruce Castor Jr., representing the Bility family, called the redacted report "an insult" to the child's memory. He says it raises more questions than answers.
Related podcast
