Late last month, Brian Rickman, the district attorney for three counties in north Georgia, announced he was empaneling a grand jury to investigate how a toddler was nearly killed by a stun grenade thrown by a SWAT team looking for meth. On Monday, that grand jury decided not to bring criminal charges against any of the officers involved in the raid.
For those who don’t remember, 19-month-old?Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh 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 stormed the house in the early hours of May 28 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–including the deputy who threw the grenade.
WXIA-TV in Atlanta obtained a copy of the grand jury presentment. Read it here. It is very critical of the investigation, calling it “hurried, sloppy, and unfortunately not in accordance with the best practices and procedures.”? While the grand jurors concluded that seeking a no-knock warrant for Thornetva was justified due to his past criminal history, it felt the investigators were in “too big of a hurry” to get him off the streets. Even if Thonetheva was dangerous, the grand jury felt that “there should be no such thing as an ’emergency’ in drug investigations.”? However, it did not feel that anything that happened in the officers’ rush to get Thornetva off the streets rose to the level of criminal conduct. While it found that efforts were made to determine if children were present, it felt more could have been done to limit or prevent collateral damage. It looks like the grand jury seriously considered bringing charges against the case agent in the investigation, a Habersham County sheriff’s deputy. Apparently the grand jurors were satisfied that the case agent resigned rather than face being fired, then surrendered his peace officer certification–effectively ending his career in law enforcement. The grand jury also considered indicting the deputy who threw the grenade, but opted not to do so.
Nonetheless, the grand jury was concerned enough about the investigation that it took the unusual step of asking the area’s state representative, Republican Terry Rogers, to enter the presentment into the record when the Georgia General Assembly reconvenes next year.? It also made specific recommendations to prevent a tragedy like Bou Bou’s in the future. For instance, it recommended that drug enforcement officers should always assume there are children in a house. It also called for the legislature to require no-knock warrants to be approved only by superior court judges and that officers who use stun grenades be certified. It also called for the county to devote more funding to increased training for all law enforcement officers, especially those responsible for drafting affidavits and search warrants.
Some changes have already been made. In addition to the forced resignation of the case agent, the special task force that conducted the raid was shut down while deliberations were underway. The unit had been a joint effort of the Habersham County Sheriff’s Department and the Cornelia police department. However, it will now operate as part of a larger task force supervised by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The grand jury applauded this move, saying it would provide the “caution and attention to detail” needed to prevent tragedies like this.
All of this comes as cold comfort to supporters of Bou Bou. Family spokesman Marcus Coleman said that the officers’ actions weren’t just sloppy, but criminal. It’s hard not to agree. As already mentioned, the Pack and Play should have been in full view of the entire team. Somebody should have taken the time to radio this back to headquarters–and didn’t. Moreover, no one has disputed claims from Alecia that the officers wasted precious seconds looking for drugs even when it was obvious Bou Bou was severely injured. To my mind, at the very least? the deputy who threw the grenade and the team’s commander should have been charged with child endangerment.
The officers can’t rest easy just yet. Federal prosecutors in Atlanta are reviewing the case to see if federal charges are warranted, and have now stepped up their review now that state charges have been ruled out. At a press conference on Tuesday, family attorney Mawuli Davis said that he wants to meet with federal prosecutors sometime this week. The family is also moving forward with plans to sue Habersham County for reneging on paying Bou Bou’s medical expenses. While Bou Bou is recovering well after moving back to Wisconsin, his parents now face over a million dollars in medical bills. While the grand jury suggested that Bou Bou’s parents had some knowledge of Thornetva’s past, it fixed the blame for the events of May 28 firmly on the investigators. That alone makes it more likely that at some point, someone is going to have to answer for what happened to Bou Bou.
Let us know your thoughts at the Liberal America Facebook page. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to receive more great stories like this one.
Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC at 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.
