• March 29, 2024

OUTRAGE: No Charges For SWAT Officers Who Maimed Toddler During Raid

Georgia law enforcement officers responsible for a bungled SWAT raid that left a toddler burned and disfigured will not face criminal charges, a grand jury has decided. The case is now being reviewed by federal officials.

AFP Photo / Stan Honda
AFP Photo / Stan Honda

News of the decision first broke on Monday, when a 23-person grand jury in Habersham County, Georgia, called the investigation “hurried and sloppy” but chose not to indict any officials involved in the SWAT operation’s planning or execution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

During the May drug raid, 19-month-old infant Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh had his face severely burned and disfigured after a flashbang grenade landed in his playpen while he was asleep. The baby – who underwent more than one surgery as a result of his injuries – had his nose detached from his face and suffered from an open gash in his chest as well as a collapsed lung.

READ: County Officials REFUSE to Pay Medical Expenses of Toddler Injured by SWAT Grenade

“This is unbelievable to me,” said father Bounkham Phonesavanh to the Journal-Constitution. “I just don’t understand how or why the grand jury would not charge any of these officers for what they did to us. It hurts me to see my family suffer like this and for them to do nothing.”

One day later, the US Attorney’s office announced it is considering charges of its own against the officers who conducted the raid.

Keep reading @ RT

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