NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - Three Pennsylvania police officers have been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an eight-year-old girl outside a high school football game in August, during which they fired a barrage of bullets after two teenagers began shooting, the authorities said.
Officers Devon Smith, Sean Dolan and Brian Devaney of the police department in Sharon Hill, a Philadelphia suburb, were each charged with a total of 12 counts, including voluntary and involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, Mr Jack Stollsteimer, a district attorney in Delaware County, said in a statement.
"We have now concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that it was, in fact, shots from the officers that struck and killed Fanta Bility and injured three others," he said.
Mr Stollsteimer had filed murder charges in November against the two teenagers for the initial shooting outside the stadium, but those charges were withdrawn, his office said on Tuesday.
In announcing the charges against the officers, the prosecutor's office released a statement from Mr Bruce Castor Jr, a lawyer representing the Bility family.
"They made the right call," he said.
In a joint statement, the three lawyers representing the officers defended their clients as heroic police officers who reacted to a life-threatening situation that was caused by "armed and violent criminals who turned a high school football game into a crime scene".
The charges on Tuesday (Jan 18) stem from a shooting that occurred on Aug 21. Police were monitoring the crowd when gunfire erupted outside the football field at Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill during the season opener against Pennsbury High School, prosecutors said.
Although a few minutes remained on the clock, the game was essentially over - a 42-0 win for the home team. People were already heading for the exits when bursts of gunfire rang out.
On the field, players hit the ground, seeking safety.
Two of those shots were fired "in the direction of" the officers, prosecutors said. The officers responded by firing "in the direction of" the stadium, prosecutors said.
The officers also fired towards a car they mistakenly believed had been the source of the initial gunshots, prosecutors said. The officers fired 25 shots.
When the shooting stopped, Fanta was dead, and at least three other people were injured, prosecutors said.
