The $11 million settlement reached in federal lawsuits over the fatal shooting of eight-year-old Fanta Bility by Sharon Hill police officers included significant commitments aimed at making a meaningful impact on the community. This week, one of those commitments was realized with the renaming of the Sharon Hill playground in Fanta’s honor.
Michael T. van der Veen, founder of van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin, and Lindheim, represented the Bility family in the lawsuit and spoke at the playground’s commemoration ceremony.
“It may be cold in Pennsylvania, but it is warm here in Fanta Bility Park, It will always be a warm, safe place for people and their families to come.” The family had agreed to settle the suit with the conditions of a Fanta Bility Park in Sharon Hill, that the borough begin a Citizen’s Advisory Board for oversight in police officer hiring, and there will be deadly use of force training mandatory for all officers on the borough’s police force. “And it is Fanta’s spirit and her soul and watching down on all of us that can help make this community, all of our communities a better place.”
Said van der Veen in the Delaware Valley Journal article.
In addition to honoring Fanta through the playground, the settlement requires Sharon Hill to implement training for police officers on the use of deadly force and establish a citizen advisory committee to provide input on police hiring decisions. van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin, and Lindheim is proud to have contributed to reforms that will bring lasting change to the community.