在周四的法庭听证会上，宾夕法尼亚州三名前莎伦·希尔(Sharon Hill)警官承认犯有鲁莽危害罪。去年，一名8岁女孩芬达·比利(Fanta Bility)在警察向人群密集的地区开枪后被打死。
1月18日，前警官布莱恩·德瓦尼、德文·史密斯和肖恩·多兰分别被指控犯有12项过失杀人罪和鲁莽危害罪。据费城ABC新闻台报道，作为女孩家人请求的认罪协议的一部分，他们承认了较轻的指控WPVI.
记者要求这些官员的律师发表评论，但没有立即得到回复。
Fanta Bility的家人出席了听证会，并告诉记者，他们希望官员的认罪将有助于给他们的家庭带来一些“结束”
“我们不断重温失去我们亲爱的芬达的痛苦，她被莎伦·希尔警察杀害时只有8岁，这种痛苦无法用语言来描述，”芬达·比利的叔叔阿布·比利告诉聚集在法庭外的记者。“由于她的母亲和兄弟姐妹是这一悲惨事件的目击者，他们将不得不在余生中带着记忆中的创伤生活。”
Abu Bility说，“经过多次祈祷和讨论”，家人决定认罪协议，确保“警察承担责任”是“家庭的最佳利益”
“我们祈祷，由于警察被追究责任，作为一个家庭和一个社区，我们可以最终有一些结束，并开始愈合过程，”他说。
芬达于2021年8月27日在沙伦希尔被枪杀，当时她正和家人在学院公园高中退出一场足球比赛。据特拉华州地方检察官杰克·斯托尔斯泰默(Jack Stollsteimer)称，两名青少年在高中附近因个人纠纷开枪后，德瓦尼、史密斯和多兰向人群开枪。
“我们现在已经排除合理怀疑得出结论，事实上，是警察开枪打死了芬达·比利，并打伤了另外三人，”斯托尔斯泰默说说在一月份宣布指控的新闻稿中。
三名警官的律师雷蒙德·德里斯科尔、史蒂文·巴顿和查尔斯·吉布斯说:“这是一场可怕的悲剧，是武装暴力犯罪分子造成的，他们把一场高中足球赛变成了犯罪现场，一名无辜的孩子丧生，其他人受重伤。”在一份联合声明中说在指控宣布后。“这三名警察听到枪声后跑去，冒着生命危险保护那个社区。这三个好人是无辜的，他们仍然为所有因为这场毫无意义的暴力而遭受痛苦的人感到心碎。”
9月，一名特拉华州法官拒绝由代表三名警官的律师提出的撤销本案过失杀人指控的动议。据WPVI称，律师们认为过失杀人指控是不正当的，因为调查人员无法确定是哪位警官开枪打死了这个8岁的孩子。
“三名军官中的每一个都朝同一个目标开枪。9月26日，在法官驳回动议后，斯托尔斯泰默表示:“我们将对这三人提出指控。”。
沙伦希尔自治市议会1月21日投票赞成终止三名军官。
Officers plead guilty to reckless endangerment in fatal shooting of 8-year-old Fanta Bility
Three former Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, police officers pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment during a court hearing on Thursday in the fatal shooting of Fanta Bility, an 8-year-old girl who was killed last year after officers fired shots into a crowded area.
Former officers Brian Devaney, Devon Smith and Sean Dolan were each charged on Jan. 18 with 12 criminal counts of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. They pleaded guilty to the lesser charge as part of a plea agreement requested by the girl's family, according to Philadelphia ABC News stationWPVI.
A request for comment to the officers' attorneys was not immediately returned.
Fanta Bility's family attended the hearing and told reporters they hope the officers' guilty pleas will help bring their family some "closure."
"The agony we feel constantly reliving 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," Fanta Bility's uncle, Abu Bility, told reporters who gathered outside the courtroom. "Since her mother and siblings were witnesses to this tragic incident, they will have to live with that trauma imprinted in their memories for the rest of their lives."
Abu Bility said "after much prayer and discussion," the family decided that a plea agreement ensuring that the "police officers take responsibility" was in the "best interest of the family."
"We pray that as a result of the police officers being held accountable, we can, as a family and as a community, finally have some closure and begin the healing process," he said.
Fanta was shot on Aug. 27, 2021, in Sharon Hill while exiting a football game at Academy Park High School with her family. Devaney, Smith and Dolan fired their guns toward the crowd after two teens opened fire in a personal dispute close to the high school, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
"We have now concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that it was, in fact, shots from the officers that struck and killed Fanta Bility and injured three others," Stollsteimersaidin a January press release announcing the charges.
"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," Raymond Driscoll, Steven Patton and Charles Gibbs, the lawyers for the three officers,said in a joint statementafter the charges were announced. "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."
In September, a Delaware County judgedenieda motion filed by the attorneys representing the three officers to dismiss the manslaughter charges in this case. According to WPVI, the lawyers argued that manslaughter charges were not warranted because investigators were not able to determine which officer fired the bullets that killed the 8-year-old.
"Each of the three officers shot at the same target. We are bringing the charges against all three," said Stollsteimer on Sept. 26 after the judge denied the motion.
The Sharon Hill Borough Councilvoted on Jan. 21 in favor of terminatingthe three officers.
