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| Alecia and Bounkham Phonesavanh and Bou Bou. |
I WAS planning to post some seasonal videos on Christmas Eve to reflect the Season of Peace, but instead, 20/20 aired this story last week and my plans changed.
“They messed up,” Alecia Phonesavanh told ABC News' "20/20." “They had a faulty search warrant. They raided the wrong house."
UPDATE: Family settles for $1 million settlement
When a Habersham County SWAT team raided what they believed to the house of a drug dealer, they threw a flash bomb into the house - right into the crib of 19-month old Bou Bou Phonesavanh.
Police prepared for the worst based on bad intelligence. They were told there were arms in the house and there were no children.
Just outside the door which they busted in was the family mini-van with its four children;s booster seats and the pictures of the kids on the dash.
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| Bou Bou right after the blast. |
It all came about because a drug task force had been looking for Bounkham Phonesavanh’s nephew, 30-year-old Wanis Thonetheva, who police suspected was selling methamphetamine. Using information from a confidential informant, drug agent Nikki Autry had secured a “no-knock” search warrant that allowed the police to enter the nephew's mother’s home unannounced.
The nephew was arrested hours later a few doors down where he actually stayed. There was no resistance and no flash grenades used in the arrest.
The police separated Bou Bou from his parents and didn't allow them to tend to his fears. He was wished to a hospital while the parents were detained for 3 hours before they were allowed to go to the hospital to see their son, who they feared might have been slain.
After five weeks in a coma, little Bou Bou and his family returned to Wisconsin but they are saddled with the medical expenses which the county refuses to pay.
The nephew was arrested hours later a few doors down where he actually stayed. There was no resistance and no flash grenades used in the arrest.
The police separated Bou Bou from his parents and didn't allow them to tend to his fears. He was wished to a hospital while the parents were detained for 3 hours before they were allowed to go to the hospital to see their son, who they feared might have been slain.
After five weeks in a coma, little Bou Bou and his family returned to Wisconsin but they are saddled with the medical expenses which the county refuses to pay.
Since the incident last Spring, Bou Bou has undergone several surgeries to repair his face and torso. The Laotian-American family says they are facing close to $1 million in debt from hospital costs. Habersham County officials will not pay the medical bills, citing a "gratuity" law in Georgia that they say prohibits them from compensating the family.
The SWAT team was disbanded in November. Coincidentally, it was disbanded a day before 20/20 began their investigation.
The grand jury heard testimony from the officers but only allowed written statements from the parents and the parents never had the opportunity to present their case. The grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved.
The grand jury heard testimony from the officers but only allowed written statements from the parents and the parents never had the opportunity to present their case. The grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved.
But Sally Quillian Yates, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, told BuzzFeed News on Tuesday that her office will take up the investigation.
“Federal authorities have been participating in the investigation of this terrible incident, and now that a state grand jury has declined to return an ie will review the matter for possible federal charges,” said Quillian Yates in a statement.
“Federal authorities have been participating in the investigation of this terrible incident, and now that a state grand jury has declined to return an ie will review the matter for possible federal charges,” said Quillian Yates in a statement.
The militarization of many police departments is a growing concern as veterans trained for war enter America's law enforcement agencies. The trend raises questions about their training. Tactics that would be understandable in Afghanistan are not the tactics that we are supposed to be using against American citizens, who have rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
American citizens -- whether they are innocent bystanders or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time -- should not be simply shrugged off as "collateral damage" in the police's intensified war against criminals.
And as critics of the protests against the grand jury decisions in the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner argue that the victims and their communities should be "accountable" for the so-called lifestyles they live, so too, must the police/state be accountable for their actions.
C'mon Georgia, do the right thing!
The Phonesavanh family has set up a website to share their story and raise money for Bou Bou’s medical expenses. Click here for more information.
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