Having walked hundreds of grief-stricken families through the process of losing a loved one to police violence, I’ve learned many predictable trends on when a case is going to go viral and deeply resonate with the nation.
The horrible police murder of Fanta Bility outside of Philadelphia, in a suburb called Sharon Hill, should be one of those cases widely known all over the country.
But it just so happened that when Fanta was shot and killed by police, nearly one year ago today, it happened in a nation that found itself utterly exhausted by a combination of COVID, around the clock protests on racial injustice, and the fallout from the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol.
When a police murder happens, it turns out, has as much to do with what causes a case to catch on, as who it happens to.
Are you even familiar with the name “Fanta Bility?” You should be.
She should be a household name.
Her shooting death, in an outrageous and illegal hail of gunfire from at least 3 police officers is about as senseless of a police murder as I’ve ever seen in my life.
We can’t let Sharon Hill Police avoid accountability for killing an eight-year old girl. If you’ve signed our super-petition, thank you. Please share it with anyone you can.
Now, take the next step with us by calling 610-854-9464 RIGHT NOW to demand that the police officers who killed Fanta are held accountable and that the full report is released to the public IMMEDIATELY. As soon as you call, you will hear my instructions before we connect you with leaders in Sharon Hill.MAKE A CALL
I feel outrageous even saying what I am about to say, but Fanta, of course, was unarmed, non-violent, and was not breaking any laws when she was shot and killed.
She wasn’t in distress. She didn’t pose a threat. I don’t even know if an 8 year old girl could pose an honest threat to heavily armed law enforcement officers, but nonetheless, Fanta posed no threat.
You literally could not make up a more innocent victim than Fanta Bility. Just two days away from starting the 3rd grade, she was as sweet, colorful, and spunky as a kid could be.
And to this day, police have refused to even attempt to give a rational or reasonable explanation for what they did.
Those 3 officers are facing 12 criminal counts of manslaughter and reckless endangerment, but the lawyers representing the officers are trying to have the charges DISMISSED.
At first, in early media reports, police falsely claimed they shot Fanta in a shootout and speculated that she was shot and killed by someone else. All of that was a lie.
Nobody fired a single shot at police. Zero.
And every single bullet fired at Fanta and her family was found to be from police. Police did indeed hear gunshots in the neighborhood from at least a block away, but those gunshots had absolutely nothing to do with Fanta and her family or anybody else that ended up wounded by the police that day.
The best guess, at this point, is that one police officer randomly fired shots at Fanta and her family, and the other police officers, as officers often do, just started firing because they saw their partner firing.
None of it makes sense. A little child is dead. And the family and community are still searching for answers and accountability.
But you can help us call for justice against these cops. Sign our petition and call 610-854-9464 to be connected with leaders in Sharon Hill.
Love and appreciate you,
Shaun
P.S. This is a picture of sweet, sweet Fanta shared with me by her family.
