Did any of you guys see this? What are your thoughts? Pretty bad situation. Article Link: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/toddler-critically-burned-during-swat-raid/nf9SJ/?GxbuEu ATLANTA — A family says a SWAT team raided their home in the middle of the night and seriously injured a 19-month-old boy with a stun grenade. Alecia Phonesavanh told Channel 2’s Ryan Young her child is at the Grady Memorial Hospital burn unit, and is in a medically induced coma. Phonesavanh said she was at her sister-in-law’s home in Habersham County early Wednesday when police raided the house. "It's my baby. He's only a baby. He didn't deserve any of this," Phonesavanh said. Phonesavanh told Young the grenade landed in the child’s crib; she showed him a photo of a charred portable crib. "It landed in his playpen and exploded on his pillow right in his face," Phonesavanh said. She also showed Young pictures of her child in the Grady burn unit. Channel 2 has decided not to share most of the photos because of the graphic nature of the child’s injuries. "He's in the burn unit. We go up to see him and his whole face is ripped open. He has a big cut on his chest," Phonesavanh said. "He's only 19 months old. He didn't do anything." Cornelia police Chief Rick Darby confirmed that the raid took place at the home just before 3 a.m. He said a multijurisdictional drug unit issued a warrant and organized the SWAT operation. Deputies said they bought drugs from the house, and came back with a no-knock warrant to arrest a man known to have drugs and weapons. “There was no clothes, no toys, nothing to indicate that there was children present in the home. If there had been then we'd have done something different,” Darby said. "Everyone's sleeping. There's a loud bang and a bright light," Phonesavanh said. "The cops threw that grenade in the door without looking first, and it landed right in the playpen and exploded on his pillow right in his face." They arrested Wanis Thometheva, 30, during the raid. Darby told Channel 2's Wendy Corona that the entire unit is very broken up about the incident. “You're trying to minimize anything that could go wrong and in this case the greatest thing went wrong,” Darby said. “Is it going to make us be more careful in the next one? Yes ma'am, it is. It's gonna make us double question.” The Phonesavanh family told Young they have no insurance and have set up a fund to pay for medical expenses.
I think law enforcement has become way too comfortable with raiding residences. There's something very disturbing to me about the very premise of "raids" by anyone in America. I don't know what the answer is but there's something fundamentally wrong with the very concept of law enforcement in "The Land of the Free" smashing in doors at 3 am.
Dude. **** the parents you think a swat person is that bad that they would purposefully flashbang a toddler? Maybe the parents shouldn't do drugs. They're like the stupid Palestina n's who throw rocks and injure Israel is then cry like babies when the Israelies shoot back. No **** the toddler didn't deserve it, the parents did and they should be held responsible for putting the child's life at risk
People are trying to use this as anti law enforcement. Whose fault is it? It's the stupid parents fault.
I agree. The militarization of police forces in the us is a little crazy to me. An someone needed to get more info on that home. Whoever got it was terrible if they couldn't figure out kids were living there. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
Did you read the article? The parents didnt do drugs?? They were staying with a family member after their home burnt down. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
So these parents had a baby in a drug house but are talking down on law enforcement? Horrible situation, but whats worse is these parents are going to use this as their get out of jail free card Im sure. Just a guess, but I bet they care less about their kid then they do the personal gain from the situation. If they cared about the kid more, they would have kept it in a safer place then a drug house. Just a thought.
I agree the parents shouldn't be there in the first place. What I find weird is why didnt the "SWAT" make sure who they were going after was home before they threw a flash bang in the home? They arrested the guy they wanted in a different home later that night/morning. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
That I dont know. But Id guess that happens often. Would be hard to just peak in windows to confirm. Hell in the movies they break down doors all the time and dont find their suspect...and we know how accurate Hollywood is!
Did you even read it....the only involvement the parent had according to the article was that the she was staying at her sister in laws....you don't know anything about her or if she is a drug user....the cops were after a guy....whom they arrested....not her....she may or may not have known what was going on in that house but you certainly don't have any idea
If they want to run around acting like military then maybe they need to gather some intel first. Hell my little bitty town has a "SWAT" ridiculous if you ask me. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
Looks like I misread. Looks like if you have a druggie relative, stay away. I'm still with swat on this you can't know everything and plan for things you don't know about. Even military intelligence heck even cia is probably off many times.
I think the guy who ordered these tactics should be facing criminal charges. There is no way that this should be written off as an unfortunate incident. A child and his family is paying a terrible price just to give a few cops the thrill of dressing up like Navy Seals grabbing bin Laden. It's time to put an end to these SWAT raids. You have no idea what you'll encounter at 3AM and the residents have no idea what's going on with people smashing in their doors at 3AM. If the quantity of drugs is so small that they can be flushed down the toilet by the time the cops knock and identify themselves, then forget it. I'm going to stop now before I post how I really feel about these repulsive and barbaric HEROES before I say something that will get me banned.
The parents are responsible for putting their child in the home of a known drug dealer who is known to go armed. That child could have very well ended up being shot in a rip off by other bad guys. The cops, had they known there were children in the home would not have used a flash bang. The person who bought the drugs to get the warrant did not report children in the home. The 3:00 AM, no knock was done for safety because of the dealers weapons and would have had to be approved by the judge to execute the warrant that way. Like many agencies throughout America, cops are expected to do more on a continuously shrinking budget. So order of responsibility for this child being hurt: 1. Parents for putting the child into a known violent environment; 2. Drug dealing relative for bringing the police in the first place; 3. Gun toting/drug dealing relative for necessitating a no-knock warrant; 4. Judge for signing a no-knock warrant; 5. The local government for not giving the police the budget to do their job in the best manner; and 5. Cops for not being psychic.
You do realize there was nothing to Indicate the presence of a baby right? You can't plan for things you don't know about. It's unfortunate and I'm pretty sure the guy who threw it and planned the raid are shocked and saddened.
RAW VIDEO: Habersham County sheriff explains raid where baby... | www.wsbtv.com "when the drug deals went down, the woman and children hid in another part of the house because they knew drug dealing was going down." Children's parents put the children in harms way.
Lol, how silly. You do realize cops even get the wrong houses on a fairly regular basis. Why not opt for a simpler and easier solution...like nabbing the desired suspect when he goes to his car...if they know where he lives. I'm guessing they could execute that on a hell of a lot smaller budget than funding a swat team and equipping them with machine guns and child killing flash bangs. You're operating under the assumption that the warrant is justified, they can get a warrant with simple suspicion as long as a judge is easy going. Either way, house raids at 3am are unamerican...they would make the Gestapo proud.
