The family of an 8-year-old Black girl killed by police out of a Pennsylvania high school have clinched an $11 million settlement deal.
Fanta was killed by a single gunshot wound to her torso in 2021 and three officers linked to the fatal incident, Devon Smith, Sean Dolan, and Brian Devaney, were fired by the Pennsylvania police department.
The officers were charged with voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the Aug. 27 shooting incident.
In November 2022, all three former police officers pleaded guilty to 10 counts each of reckless endangerment.
Under the negotiated pleas, the charges of manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter were dismissed and in May 2023, they were sentenced to five years of probation.
The $11 million settlement brings to an end young Bility family’s legal battle but starts their mission to keep Fanta’s memory alive and to prevent tragedies like the one that claimed her life.
The settlement also creates a citizens advisory board and mandates Sharon Hill police to have more training on using deadly force.
The shooting incident outside of Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill, just north of Philadelphia, left three others wounded.
Shortly after the incident, authorities explained that teenagers had opened fire at each other during an argument, prompting the three former officers stationed nearby to fire their weapons.
The law firm representing Bility’s family, van der Veen, Hartshorn and Levin, said the settlement will bring some “measure of justice and accountability to those whose lives were forever changed.”
“We hope to move on and focus specifically on the Fanta Bility Foundation and keeping Fanta’s name and legacy alive,” said the law firm.
The firm said no amount of money will ever bring back the young Black girl or undo the tragedy of August 27, 2021.
