Lawyers for the three officers accused in the Philadelphia shooting death of eight-year-old Fanta Bility have argued that the judge in the case should dismiss their manslaughter charges.
Attorneys for Devon Smith, Brian Devaney, and Sean Dolan said the officers aren’t responsible for the death of the girl and that they were facing unfair treatment because they are members of law enforcement, reports the The Philadelphia Inquirer. The officers noted that that their profession is under extra scrutiny amid the current cultural climate.
Deputy District Attorney Douglas Rhoads rejected the argument made by the attorney for the former officers and said their actions initiated an “unbroken chain of events” leading to the death of the girl.
Delaware County Court Judge Margaret Amoroso chose to not rule in the matter but to instead afford the two sides more time to send in written arguments. She’s set to rule on the dismiss motion at a 16 September hearing.
Fanta had been walking with her mother and older sister at the time of her death. They had just left a football game at Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill. The three law enforcement officials were observing the crowd heading out of the stadium when they heard gunfire from a dispute between two teenagers in the area.
They discharged their weapons 25 times at a Chevrolet Impala driving by, which they wrongly believed to be part of the shooting, police have said.
Some of the officers’ bullets went past the vehicle and struck four people. Fanta was one of them, she died as she was held by her mother, according to The Inquirer.
It remains unclear which officer fired the shot that killed Fanta. Prosecutors have said the bullet taken from her body was too damaged to track to a specific firearm.
“I’m not going to get up here and say any of these officers wanted to kill Fanta Bility or any of the spectators”, Judge Rhoads said at the hearing on Monday. “But when they targeted and fired at that Impala, with the stadium as their backdrop, they were reckless.”
Mr Devaney told a fellow officer at the stadium that they were being fired upon and that the three officers all thought the people in the Impala were behind the hail of bullets, a court filing states.
The gunfire had actually come from two teenagers standing 140 feet (43 metres) away – Angelo AJ Ford and Hasein Strand. They fired at each other during an argument. The two teenagers were charged with Fanta’s killing based on the transferred intent legal theory, with Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer saying that they were responsible because their gunfire prompted the officers to open shoot.
When a grand jury instead suggested that the officers be charged, the charges against the teens were withdrawn.
The grand jury ruled that the three officers should face charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault, and other crimes. Just days later, the officers were fired.
Steven Patton represents Mr Dolan. He said on Monday that the teens caused the chain of events that led to Fanta’s death, not the officers. He added that Mr Stollheimer’s initial action to charge the teens was correct.
Judge Amoroso asked what part the teens played in the death of Fanta and told the two sides to send in further arguments ahead of the upcoming hearing, according to the paper.
Sharon Hill Solicitor Courtney Richardson has said that an independent report into the actions of the officers will be made public next week.
That report will include a summary of an investigation by Philadelphia District Attorney Kelley Hodge that has lasted for nine months.
Ms Hodge was tasked with reviewing the officer’s training in use-of-force and outlining the proper actions for improved relations with the community.
