UPDATE: Jan. 20, 8:01 p.m.
The three Sharon Hill police officers who had been charged in the deadly shooting of Fanta Bility, 8, have been fired.
The Sharon Hill Borough Council fired Devon Smith, 34, Sean Dolan, 25, and Brian Devaney, 41, during their Council meeting Thursday night.
Six of the seven Council members voted in favor of firing the officers.
Original story
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 Devon Smith, 34, Sean Dolan, 25, and Brian Devaney, 41. The three were arraigned Tuesday morning. They are out on $500,000 unsecured bail.
The Sharon Hill Borough Council will consider a motion to fire officers Devaney, Dolan, and Smith based on the charges being filed against them.
The vote was scheduled to happen during Council's regularly-scheduled council meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday night.
"Today we must reflect on our safety, and on those who are sworn to protect and serve," said Council President Tanya Allen.
"We respect the judicial process and while we have been patient in our approach, now that the grand jury has concluded its investigation, and given the serious charges issued by the district attorney, we are able to move forward with measures that will hold the officers accountable.”
Council said in the statement they are "empowered to fire officers who either 'neglect or violate any official duty or violate any law if the violation constitutes a misdemeanor of felony.'" based on the borough's code.
The charges come after a lengthy grand jury investigation. Fanta Bility, age 8, was shot and killed while leaving an Academy Park football game on Aug. 27.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said 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.
According to the grand jury presentment, as the crowd was leaving the game, two teens from rival neighborhoods started shooting at each other about a block from the entrance to the football field.
A car turned toward the field entrance and police opened fire, mistakenly thinking those in the car were involved.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including the 8-year-old.
“These officers were responding to a shootout. Two young men were shooting at each other outside the football game," said Stollsteimer. "They used deadly force, but they used it wrongly.”
“This was a split-second decision, but the grand jurors and I believe that officers need to be held accountable," he added. "They need to be accountable when they make tragic mistakes like this.”
The two teens were charged with murder, as the district attorney’s office says their actions led to the little girl’s death, but those charges, at the 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.
“This is a problem that we as a society have to deal with," the district attorney added.
"We have too many young people running around with access to firearms, deadly firearms. And it can kick off a series of tragic events as it did here.”
He said they are withdrawing murder charges against the teens, but going forward with attempted murder and aggravated assault.
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Stollsteimer said law enforcement is working to expand training, and the divide between the community and law enforcement needs to be fixed.
"We can't have juveniles running around with automatic weapons in their waistband. And that's the bottom line here. We need to make our community safer," Stollsteimer added.
"We're trying to move forward by holding everyone accountable for their actions that evening who are firing guns, I'm recognizing is going to take a lot more than that for the community to be able to heal.”
“This is a sad day for our officers, who face criminal charges for trying to do their jobs and keeping the community safe,” said Delaware County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 27 President Joseph Fitzgerald in a statement.
“The FOP continues to support these fine officers and will provide a vigorous defense against these allegations. Our members have served the Sharon Hill community with respect and integrity, and we ask the public for continued patience as this case moves through the criminal justice system.”
"This is a terrible tragedy that was caused by armed and violent criminals who turned a high school football game into a crime scene in which an innocent child lost her life and others were seriously injured," said attorneys Raymond Driscoll, Charles Gibbs and Steven Patton said in a statement. They are representing Devaney, Dolan and Smith.
"These three officers ran to the sound of gunshots and risked their own lives to protect that community. These three good men are innocent, and remain heartbroken for all who have suffered because of this senseless violence."
The lawyer for Bility's family said while nothing can bring back Fanta, they are relieved that charges have been filed.
“There was a lot of talk, you know, about the grand jury was a whitewash and the police were going to get off, and they were charging these other kids that to throw suspicion away from the police. None of that turn out to be true," said Bruce Castor.
Castor is handling the civil suit, and he says the family is seeking more than just money.
"What we also want is, we want a set of regulations and requirements that that boroughs like Sharon Hill must go through in training their police, and continuing and upgrading their, their training.”
Castor said while others have expressed frustration over the length of the investigation, he feels he has been able to keep the family in the loop, as he’s had almost daily conversations with the DA’s office.
KYW Newsradio staff contributed to this report.
