A widely anticipated investigative report into the death of a little girl killed by police shooting at suspects outside a high school football game last summer revealed little after its release Friday, with an attorney for the girl's family calling it "shameful and outrageous."
All of the "conclusions" and "areas of concern" were redacted, among numerous other sections, in the 54-page report written by a law firm hired to independently investigate the Sharon Hill police department's use-of-force policy and training procedures following the Aug. 27, 2021 killing of Fanta Bility.
The 8-year-old girl was killed in gunfire that erupted following a high school football game in the Delaware County borough south of Philadelphia. The girl and her family were caught in what was initially investigated as crossfire between local police and suspects in a passing vehicle.
District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer later said it was one of the three officers’ guns that killed her, but they aren't able to identify which one, adding that the bullet that took her life was a fragment.
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The Sharon Hill Borough solicitor said after the report was released that much of it could not yet be released because of ongoing criminal and civil court cases.
"The document is a confidential report and attorney-client privileged, but the borough wanted to share as much of it as they could and be transparent as much as they could at this time," Solicitor Courtney Richardson said. "The point of the report was to investigate the use of force policies in place at the time of the shooting and provide for administrative accountability and establish (police department) best practices."
She added that there is no timetable to release the full report.
Earlier this week, attorneys for the three former Sharon Hill police officers accused in Bility's death asked for manslaughter charges against them to be dismissed.
In front of a Delaware County judge Monday, the defense for Brian James Devaney, 41, Sean Patrick Dolan, 25, and Devon E. Smith, 34, argued that without identifying which of three officers fired the shot that struck and killed Fanta, the prosecution does not have a case for manslaughter.
The judge didn't make a decision Monday and scheduled another hearing for Sept. 16.
A few weeks after the shooting, Stollsteimer released more details that said it appeared "nearly certain" that bullets from officers' handguns killed Fanta. Four other people were hurt during the shooting.
In January, Stollsteimer announced manslaughter charges against three officers in Fanta's death. Murder charges against two young men initially charged with her death were withdrawn.
“This is an absolute tragedy," Stollsteimer said outside the courthouse Monday. "The officers shot at the wrong target and they shot into a crowd of people, and we brought charges."
The lawyer for the Bility family, Bruce Castor Jr., said in a statement after the release of the investigative report that "the undated and redacted report made public today by Sharon Hill Borough is an insult to the memory of Fanta and completely unacceptable in any society that values the truth and the Rule of Law. The heavily edited report raises more questions in the minds of the family and the public than it answers."
Fanta Bility's Death
"The government of Sharon Hill exists to protect and serve the public, but its officials think it exists to protect (and) serve them. The redactions after having had the report for weeks (or months) is a shameful and outrageous demonstration that Sharon Hill Borough’s officials are not interested in providing the truth to the public as a beginning point to heal the community," Castor said in the statement. "Sharon Hill’s only interest is in delay. What is contained behind those black bars in the report? What else could there be apart from a professional assessment of the ineptitude of the training, policies, procedures and supervision given to the Sharon Hill Police Department in the use of deadly force?"
Richardson, the borough solicitor, said Castor's reaction is "unfortunate."
"That’s a really unfortunate statement. Mr. Castor is involved with a lawsuit against Sharon Hill," Richardson said. "Mr. Castor has been an attorney for many years, and completely understands that this document is protected by attorney-client privilege.”
