It looks like we may be about to get some answers about the botched SWAT raid in Cornelia, Georgia in which two-year-old Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh was nearly killed by a stun grenade. On Tuesday, the area district attorney announced that later this month, he will empanel a grand jury to look into both the raid itself and the circumstances leading up to it. Brian Rickman, the district attorney for three counties in the north Georgia mountains, said that starting on September 29, a 23-member grand jury will look into what happened before and during the raid that took place early on the morning of May 28.
For those who don’t remember, 19-month-old Bou Bou and his family fled to Cornelia, an hour north of Atlanta, after their house in Wisconsin burned down. While staying with his aunt and uncle, a SWAT team rolled in with a no-knock warrant for Bou Bou’s cousin, Wanis Thornetva, who was wanted for dealing meth. One of the officers threw a stun grenade into the window that landed in Bou Bou’s playpen and exploded. The force of the blast severely burned Bou Bou’s face and partially detached his nose. It also blew a hole in his chest. All available evidence suggests that this horror was completely preventable. The warrant was obtained on the word of an informant who never even entered the house. Had he done so, he would have discovered ample evidence that kids were living there. Moreover, according to Bou Bou’s parents, Alecia and Bounkham, Sr., there was a Pack and Play playpen that would have been in full view of the SWAT team.
The first sign that Rickman was seriously weighing criminal charges came on the day after Labor Day, when he met with the Phonesavanh’s attorney, Mawuli Davis. On Tuesday, Rickman formally announced the decision to take this matter to a grand jury after meeting with Davis and several civil rights advocates in Newnan, an Atlanta suburb. Rickman’s counterpart in Coweta County, Pete Skandakis, is serving as an independent adviser to the grand jury. Davis applauded the decision, saying that he hoped it would mean someone would be held accountable for what happened to Bou Bou.
From where I’m sitting, there are quite a few people who probably should have lawyers on speed dial. Specifically, the members of the SWAT team. Alecia and Bounkham, Sr. told CNN that the Pack and Play was not more than two feet from the door. From that distance, it is inconceivable that someone on the team couldn’t have seen it. Someone on the team should have radioed back, “Wait a minute–we’ve got kids here.” Moreover, the behavior of the officers after they stormed into the house was simply outrageous. Alecia wrote an op-ed about that night’s events for Salon in which she said the officers wasted precious seconds looking for drugs when it was obvious Bou Bou was gravely injured. At least now we may find out if their actions were merely a firing offense or criminal misbehavior.
The Phonesavanhs are back in Wisconsin, but Davis had already announced plans to sue Habersham County after it reneged on paying Bou Bou’s medical expenses. That bill got even larger earlier today when Bou Bou had the stitches used to reattach his nose removed. If the grand jury does ultimately return criminal indictments, I have to think that it will make very hard for county officials to keep up this stance. Regardless of what happens, we can only hope this brings Bou Bou one step closer to getting justice.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
