Cops Killed a Little Girl Then Charged Two Teens Who Were a Block Away With Her Murder

When Fanta Bility, 8, and her family went to a high school football game in August, they had no idea their greatest dread would come true that night. Unfortunately, that is precisely what occurred, courtesy to a bunch of trigger-happy police officers who used excessive force. Now, since officers in America are not held responsible for their own conduct, they have charged two adolescent lads with Fanta's murder – despite the fact that she was killed by police weapons.

As Fanta and her family exited the game that night, police opened fire on their party, fatally shooting Fanta and injuring numerous others, including her elder sister. It's been over three months since young Fanta died, and no police have been prosecuted - just two teenagers who happened to be fighting nearby.

According to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, Angelo "AJ" Ford, 16, and Husein Strand, 18, face first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and firearm charges in connection with the incident.

Stollsteimer said that the allegations against Ford and Strand are an "essential step forward in [his] office's ongoing efforts to bring Fanta's case to justice." However, accusing two teenagers who did not murder Fanta with her murder erroneously is hardly pursuing justice for anybody.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the legal foundation for accusing the two teenagers is "very straightforward." "They were trying to assassinate one another that night, and as a consequence, a little child died."

However, an examination of the facts reveals that other than the two boys attempting to harm one other, they were nowhere near Fanta and had no role in her murder other than to provoke a few gun-crazy officers – who were ultimately responsible for Fanta's death.

According to Bruce L. Castor, the girl's family filed a lawsuit seeking "answers and damages for the terrible and senseless death... and the injuries and anguish caused on others as a consequence of Sharon Hill Police officers' actions."

On August 27, Fanta and her family were leaving an Academy Park High football game when a gunshot occurred approximately a block away following an altercation between those two kids. When a car pulled in front of the stadium exit, the gunfire had ceased and the football spectators were peacefully exiting.

For whatever reason, cops outside the stadium mistaken the car for a suspect and opened fire on it – shooting 25 bullets into the vehicle with a throng behind them. Fanta was struck in the back by one of the bullets. Fanta's mother, Tenneh Kromah, "attempted to console the terror-stricken little child before she died" in her mother's arms that night, according to the complaint.

Castor claims in the complaint that police officers were "deliberately inattentive and recklessly" and that the borough and its police chief gave officers "tacit authority" to act in this way.

According to the complaint, which was first published by the Philadelphia Inquirer, officers Devon Smith, John Scanlan III, and an unknown third cop all discharged their firearms that night, but the third officer is not mentioned in the case.

"The suit's primary focus is on Sharon Hill Borough's insufficient training and supervision of its police officers, as well as the police officers' gross negligence or reckless behaviour, which resulted in Fanta's death and her sister's injury," Castor told WHYY Philadelphia.

Apart from Fanta and her sister Mawatta, two other ladies were shot by police that evening. These two ladies were recent Academy Park High School graduates who were passengers in the car upon which cops opened fire. According to a law enforcement source, the passengers of the car were there that night to watch the football game and had nothing to do with the original firing. Since then, the police have acknowledged this truth.

The Delaware County Black Caucus has demanded the firing of all three cops who opened fire that night. The lawsuit echoes the caucus's request.

According to the New York Times, the allegations against the two adolescents are based on a legal concept called "transferred intent," which prosecutors feel applies in this instance since they allege that the two boys wanted to murder one other and that their actions resulted in Fanta's death. However, analysts believe prosecutors are straining the concept of "transferred intent" and may struggle to prove the allegations in court.

According to prosecutors in the case, on Nov. 18, a grand jury will begin deliberating on the officers' participation in the incident. The community, on the other hand, is already seeing the "transferred intent" accusations against the two teenagers as the department's attempt to absolve itself of culpability and thereby clear the police.

Castor, who worked in law enforcement for three decades, has stated that he understands what constitutes an acceptable level of force and that, while he does not believe the officers acted maliciously or with the intent to kill, he believes they acted recklessly and are responsible for the child's death.

Indeed, firing fire into a gathering of people, including young children, in order to shoot at a car that was not involved in the first shooting is, to put it mildly, dangerous.

"I want the attention to stay on the Sharon Hill police officers whose careless and irresponsible actions resulted in Fanta Bility's death," Castor said. "From the Bility family's perspective, these cops murdered Fanta, and they, as well as those responsible for their supervision and training, must be held guilty."

We concur.