The three Pennsylvania police officers who killed 8-year-old Fanta Bility outside a high school football game in August have been charged with manslaughter.and reckless endangerment.
The first degree murder charges against two teenagers charged in the shooting have been dropped.
The first degree murder charges against two teenagers charged in the shooting have been dropped.
The officers, Devon Smith, Sean Dolan and Brian Devaney, fired a barrage of shots into the large crowd after they say they heard gunfire.
Blocks away two Black teenagers were engaged in an altercation, during which a gun was allegedly shot. nytimes.com/2022/01/18/us/…
Blocks away two Black teenagers were engaged in an altercation, during which a gun was allegedly shot. nytimes.com/2022/01/18/us/…
There was never any question that it was one of the cop's guns that had killed Fanta, but the DA charged the two Black teenagers with first degree murder.
It was unclear how they could ever prove this charge since first degree murder requires intent. inquirer.com/news/angelo-fo…
It was unclear how they could ever prove this charge since first degree murder requires intent. inquirer.com/news/angelo-fo…
The reason the two teenagers were charged tho is more obvious - they're Black teenagers.
Of the three cops, two are White, one is Black.
cnn.com/2022/01/18/us/…
Of the three cops, two are White, one is Black.
cnn.com/2022/01/18/us/…
Maybe more critical - the neighborhood in which this happened, Sharon Hill is 75% Black. The crowd at that football game was almost all Black.
Would those cops have fired indiscriminately into that crowd if the people were White?
Would those cops have fired indiscriminately into that crowd if the people were White?
The lives of everyone involved here were disposable to the police and the DA: the victims (people other than Fanta, including her sister, were shot and injured) and the teenage boys they charged with her murder.
And let's not get too excited. The cops in this case have been charged on the recommendation of a grand jury.
They haven't been indicted. They are out on unsecured bond. If they are prosecuted it will be by the same DA who charged two teenagers with first degree murder.
They haven't been indicted. They are out on unsecured bond. If they are prosecuted it will be by the same DA who charged two teenagers with first degree murder.
The DA muddied the waters by charging the teenagers first if this case does go to trial.
The charging of these cops now is barely a blip in the national media or on social media. The case was never high profile nationally. I won't be surprised when the charges are dismissed.
The charging of these cops now is barely a blip in the national media or on social media. The case was never high profile nationally. I won't be surprised when the charges are dismissed.
See this is one of the most astounding things about the case - it wasn't under a felony murder theory (which is usually second degree murder here). It was first degree intentional murder.
https://twitter.com/michael_qld/status/1484160433326297092?s=20
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