Proposed bill aims to tighten firearm training for officers after 2021 police shooting of Fanta Bility
What is Fanta's Law? Proposed bill requires police to undergo multiple firearms trainings per year
Two state legislators are introducing bills requiring police officers in certain communities to undergo mandatory firearms training courses at least four times a year. The move comes after eight-year-old Fanta Bility was tragically shot and killed by Sharon Hill police in August 2021.
HARRISBURG - Legislators in Pennsylvania introduced a bill that aims to sharpen firearms training for police officers after the 2021 police shooting death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility.
Bility was leaving a high school football game in Sharon Hill when she was shot to death by officers who believed they were firing at a car involved in a shooting.
The officers were fired by the borough and later pleaded guilty to multiple counts of reckless endangerment. The Bility family reached an $11M settlement in 2023.
"Fanta's Law" introduced by legislators Monday would require officers in certain communities to undergo at least four firearms training courses per year.
Any officer who fails to meet the required number of firearms training courses will be placed on administrative leave, per the proposed legislation.
"I want to keep Fanta in my mind when she had life," Bility's mother Tenneh Kromah said Monday. "I don't want anyone to be in this situation again."
The Delaware County Fraternal Order of Police said it supports the proposed bill, along with Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
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"It's not just about shooting at static targets," Stollsteimer said. "We have to teach police officers to use virtual targets, so we're able to make quick decisions in very difficult situations."
The family has set up a foundation in Fanta Bility's name and says it expects to continue to work on issues of police training.