Grand Jury Recommends No Charges In Georgia Police Raid That Severely Injured Toddler
BY Herschel Smith
10 years, 2 months ago
HABERSHAM COUNTY — A grand jury recommends no criminal charges in the Habersham County SWAT raid that critically injured a toddler.
Bounkham Phonesavah, affectionately known as “Baby Boo Boo,” spent weeks in a burn unit after a SWAT team’s flash grenade exploded near his face. The toddler was just 19-months-old and asleep in the early morning hours of May 28. SWAT officers threw the device into his home while executing a search warrant for a drug suspect.
In their 15-page presentment, the grand jury found no cause for criminal charges against the any deputies involved in the botched SWAT raid. but they had plenty to say about the investigation.
The jury called it “sloppy and hurried” and “not in accordance with best practices.” The grand jury said while they want law enforcement to pursue drug dealers “the zeal to hold them accountable must not override cautious and patient judgment.”
They went on to say “there should be no such thing as an emergency drug investigation.”
A sheriff’s task force said they had a witness to drug sales at the home and expected to find a known drug dealer inside. They obtained a no-knock warrant. Instead, they encountered the child and his parents sleeping just beyond this door.
To that point, the grand jury recommended “that every effort should be made in determining presence of children.”
“What stood out to me is how hard they worked and struggled,” said District Attorney Brian Rickman.
Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh asked Rickman, “A lot of people have said throughout this that if a flash bang, a grenade, exploded inside a child’s crib, something went wrong. A lot of people were hoping that someone would be held accountable.”
They wanted someone to be held accountable, they just didn’t want to be the ones to do it. So here is the summary. In Georgia, and perhaps in many states around the nation, cops can go into a man’s castle on sloppy police work (rather than spend their time chasing MS13 and other gang activity), throw a grenade behind a door they hadn’t breached so without knowledge of who or what was on the other side, injure a toddler for life (sentencing him to multiple painful surgeries and recoveries), and get off without so much as a slap on the wrist.
And this, from a jury of people who could suffer the same fate tomorrow at the hands of the police. Welcome to Amerika!
Related: Man Who Defends His Life In No-Knock Raid Now Faces Death Penalty
On October 7, 2014 at 7:52 am, Seerightthere! said:
I believe we will now see an uptick in ambush attacks against leo’s around the nation…. It’s too bad, we had a chance to fix it.
On October 7, 2014 at 8:01 am, smartacus said:
pride before the fall
On October 7, 2014 at 8:55 am, Paul B said:
If you are going to bust down a door in a manner that show you are intending to meet some resistance you should be sure resistance is on the other side of the door.
This whole swat thing has gotten completely out of hand.
Yes, the officers should have been charged. If they did not go into turbo mode and actually see the crib they threw the flash bang into they should not be carrying flash bangs.
On October 7, 2014 at 11:01 am, Archer said:
Agreed. I see it the same as firing a gun through a closed door. If you can’t see the target, you can’t be sure what you’re going to hit (and you will hit something).
It’s negligence at best, willful disregard at worst. Additionally, IIRC, a flash-bang is classified as a “destructive device” by the BATFE, regulated the same as a pipe-bomb or fragmentation grenade. If any of us pulled that “toss it in without looking” crap, we’d already be in prison for a VERY long time.
[mommy voice] If they can’t be responsible with their toys, then they shouldn’t get to play with them. [/mommy voice]
On October 7, 2014 at 9:58 am, Western Gunowner said:
The American people are determined to voluntarily surrender to the police state.
Shame on them.
On January 22, 2024 at 12:27 pm, Chris said:
Well, at least they got to kit up and do shit like 6 and CAG do on TV.
““ The jury called it “sloppy and hurried” and “not in accordance with best practices.” ””
Negligence at the least.
I bet it took Along time (Best Practices), to choose that Grand Jury.