LEVITTOWN, Pa. — Three police officers from Pennsylvania have been charged in the shooting death of an 8-year-old girl leaving a high school football game in August, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The officers from the Sharon Hill Police Department face charges of voluntary manslaughter, manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the death of Fanta Bility and the injuries suffered by others in the police-involved shooting on Aug. 27.
A Delaware County grand jury recommended the charges after its review of the case, said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, who announced the charges Tuesday. Officers Brian Devaney, 41, Sean Dolan, 25, and Devon Smith, 33, were charged.
Bail was set at $500,000, unsecured, for each officer and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 27 in Springfield District Court.
Attorneys for the officers released a brief joint statement Tuesday afternoon calling the shooting a “terrible tragedy caused by armed and violent criminals who turned a high school football game into a crime scene.”
“These three officers ran to the sound of gunshots and risked their own lives to protect that community,” read the statement from attorneys Raymond Dirscoll, Steven Patton and Charles Gibbs with the firm McMonagle, Perri, McHugh, Mischak, Davis. “These three good men are innocent and remain heartbroken for all who have suffered because of this senseless violence.”