SWAT in Atlanta Critically Injure 2-year-old Boy

[Nehkara]

A SWAT team blew a hole in my 2-year-old son

Some of my kids’ toys were in the front yard, but the officers claimed they had no way of knowing children might be present. Our whole family was sleeping in the same room, one bed for us, one for the girls, and a crib.

After the SWAT team broke down the door, they threw a flashbang grenade inside. It landed in my son’s crib.

It’s been three weeks since the flashbang exploded next to my sleeping baby, and he’s still covered in burns.

There’s still a hole in his chest that exposes his ribs. At least that’s what I’ve been told; I’m afraid to look.

My husband’s nephew, the one they were looking for, wasn’t there. He doesn’t even live in that house. After breaking down the door, throwing my husband to the ground, and screaming at my children, the officers – armed with M16s – filed through the house like they were playing war. They searched for drugs and never found any.

I heard my baby wailing and asked one of the officers to let me hold him. He screamed at me to sit down and shut up and blocked my view, so I couldn’t see my son. I could see a singed crib. And I could see a pool of blood. The officers yelled at me to calm down and told me my son was fine, that he’d just lost a tooth. It was only hours later when they finally let us drive to the hospital that we found out Bou Bou was in the intensive burn unit and that he’d been placed into a medically induced coma.

A few nights ago, my 8-year-old woke up in the middle of the night screaming, “No, don’t kill him! You’re hurting my brother! Don’t kill him.” How can I ever make that go away? I used to tell my kids that if they were ever in trouble, they should go to the police for help. Now my kids don’t want to go to sleep at night because they’re afraid the cops will kill them or their family. It’s time to remind the cops that they should be serving and protecting our neighborhoods, not waging war on the people in them.

Silver lining:

Update: As of the afternoon of 6/24/2014, Baby Bou Bou has been taken out of the medically induced coma and transferred to a new hospital to begin rehabilitation. The hole in his chest has yet to heal, and doctors are still not able to fully assess lasting brain damage.

[btimbit]

Sucks, but this is why you don't associate with criminals

[Wood]

Yeah there's always another side to the story, and I don't think SWAT are busting into innocent peoples homes with rifles and flash bangs randomly

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Sucks, but this is why you don't associate with criminals

They sent a SWAT team after a 16-year-old kid who they thought had a small amount of drugs, entered a home he did not reside in, and used unreasonable force.

[GreenLantern2814]

Jesus did I not need that story in my brain.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

They sent a SWAT team after a 16-year-old kid who they thought had a small amount of drugs, entered a home he did not reside in, and used unreasonable force.

It's not like they were busting down random doors looking for him, they had reason to believe he'd be hiding there.

Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely awful that a child got injured like that. But unfortunately accidents happen.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Sucks, but this is why you don't associate with criminals

Yeah, totally the kid's fault for falling in with the wrong crowd.

I suspect this is going to result in one heck of a lawsuit.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by btimbit

It's not like they were busting down random doors looking for him, they had reason to believe he'd be hiding there.

Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely awful that a child got injured like that. But unfortunately accidents happen.

lol, what a BS attitude.

"#### happens"

It's not supposed to happen, that's the point.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Sucks, but this is why you don't associate with criminals

That's a very crass, shortsighted way of looking at this particular event, imo. This wasn't a family full of criminals and the law caught up to them.


It was a family where the husband's nephew had drugs and the swat team took down their household, where the teen didn't even live and ripped their family apart, critically injuring their baby, while looking for drugs.

C'mon man, you can't seriously say your comment fits well with the situation.

[Wood]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/30/us/geo...aid/index.html

A confidential informant hours earlier had purchased methamphetamine at the house, the sheriff says. The informant told police that there were men standing guard outside the home, and it was unclear whether they were armed

Because the suspected drug dealer, Wanis Thonetheva, had a previous weapons charge, officers were issued a "no-knock warrant"

When the SWAT team hit the home's front door with a battering ram, it resisted as if something was up against it, the sheriff said, so one of the officers threw the flash-bang grenade inside the residence.

Once inside the house, the SWAT team realized it was a portable playpen blocking the door, and the flash-bang grenade had landed inside where the 19-month-old was sleeping, the sheriff said.

[btimbit]

Of course the (understandably) upset mothers side of things don't paint the police with a very good brush. But also, of course the article doesn't mention the nephews violent past, weapons possession, and how undercover cops have bought drugs from that house before. They weren't just busting down random doors looking for the guy.

[Canehdianman]

I'd like to think that events like this will teach the US that their war on drugs is useless and expensive (in terms of money and lives).

Unfortunately I doubt it will do anything other than devastate an innocent family.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

I'd like to think that events like this will teach the US that their war on drugs is useless and expensive (in terms of money and lives).

Unfortunately I doubt it will do anything other than devastate an innocent family.

I'd like to think that events like this will teach people not to raise children around drugs and bad environments.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I'd like to think that events like this will teach people not to raise children around drugs and bad environments.

yeah. I'm a little harder to bait than that.

Enjoy your day.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I'd like to think that events like this will teach people not to raise children around drugs and bad environments.

I'd like to think that this event will teach the police not to throw a device like this into a house full of children.

On the other hand, maybe if this Drug Dealer™ had been in the house, and they'd taken him downtown, it might have solved the drug problem in the States. Maybe one burned baby would have been the price to pay. We'll never know.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

I'd like to think that this event will teach the police not to throw a device like this into a house full of children.

On the other hand, maybe if this Drug Dealer™ had been in the house, and they'd taken him downtown, it might have solved the drug problem in the States. Maybe one burned baby would have been the price to pay. We'll never know.

don't do it man ... just don't do it.

[btimbit]

So you guys have no issues with raising kids in houses that they sell drugs out of? Around armed drug dealers? I've already commented on how horrible the injury was but a lot of you seem to think this was a perfect suburban family home, when it's not. I'm simply saying that if this were truly a good environment for children none of this would have happened.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by btimbit

So you guys have no issues with raising kids in houses that they sell drugs out of?

Most people have a problem with that. But even more people have a problem with a flashbang in a baby's crib. Police (and especially SWAT) are supposed to be trained professionals. Burning a baby is pretty... Unprofessional.

[RougeUnderoos]

I'm not as familiar with the family's circumstances as you are, obviously, so I can't comment on that. I agree, it's probably not an ideal situation. Considering there were six people sleeping in one room and crib was in the hallway, my guess is that they couldn't go spend the night at the Hyatt.

Anyway, I see where this is going. Drugs = Bad, Parents = Bad, Cops=Good. End of discussion.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by btimbit

So you guys have no issues with raising kids in houses that they sell drugs out of?

They're pretty ####ty at selling drugs out of their house when they have no drugs in the house.