Pubdate: Wed, 04 Jun 2014
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Copyright: 2014 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Contact:  http://www.ajc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
Author: Steve Visser

PROBE OF BOTCHED RAID GROWS

State, Federal Agencies Look into Incident That Left Child Badly Hurt.

The investigation into the botched drug raid that left a baby 
critically injured is growing to include state and federal authorities.

"As a parent, I can't imagine the horrible nightmare that this family 
is enduring," said U.S. Attorney Sally Yates on Tuesday. "Federal and 
state authorities are coordinating to get to the bottom of what happened."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday that at the 
request of the district attorney it would investigate whether 
narcotics officers violated the law in executing a controversial 
"no-knock" search warrant last Wednesday.

Meanwhile civil rights advocates delivered a letter to Yates asking 
that federal authorities investigate whether the rights of 
19-month-old Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh and his family were 
violated in the highly aggressive search that yielded no drugs, no 
drug dealer and no weapons. It was unclear how active a role federal 
authorities would play.

"It is not unusual for the U.S. Attorney to conduct a simultaneous 
investigation in these type of cases," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, 
D-Atlanta, who helped deliver the letter to Yates. "They did it in 
the Kathryn Johnston case."

Three Atlanta police officers eventually went to federal prison for 
their role in the 2006 raid that left the 92-year-old Johnston dead 
when the officers were serving a no-knock warrant on her house. 
Authorities contended Johnston and Bou Bou were innocent victims but 
tragic accidents in the war on drugs.

Both cases prompted huge public uproar and backlash directed at the 
police and political fallout. In the Habersham case, the GBI's 
announcement that District Attorney Brian Rickman had requested the 
agency determine if officers violated the law or were criminally 
negligent in the raid represented something of an about face for the 
prosecutor.

He told The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Monday that his office 
would investigate whether there was any criminal wrongdoing by law 
officers in how they handled the raid. Now, the GBI appears to be the 
lead agency.

"As tragedies goes, it is as awful as it comes," he said of the 
child's injuries, but suggested criminal negligence was a tough 
standard. "From what we look at, Did they have reasons to know there 
were children involved? Was there any criminal intent when the device 
was deployed?"

On Monday, Gov. Nathan Deal said he was confident Rickman would do a 
thorough investigation.

Rickman was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. His office 
said he was overseeing cases in drug court.

"Bou Bou" was injured when police tossed a flash-bang stun grenade 
into a home in Cornelia during a 3 a.m. raid, and it landed on his 
pillow in his playpen where he was sleeping. His three sisters and 
parents were sleeping the same room but were uninjured.

Police said an undercover agent bought drugs at the house the day 
before. No drugs or guns were found during the raid. The target of 
the raid, Wanis Thonetheva, was not there and was arrested later and 
only charged with drug possession, not sales, according to the 
sheriff's office.

Lawyers for the Phonesavanhs also have asked for state and federal 
investigators, contending Habersham County sheriff's deputies and 
Cornelia police officers were criminally negligent because they 
claimed not to know four children were in the house.

Family lawyer Mawuli Mel Davis said any competent investigation would 
have revealed the presence of the Phonesavanhs, who moved into home 
in April after their house burned in Wisconsin. Alecia Phonesavanh, 
the mother, said they discovered a "bad environment" in the home and 
had rented a U-Haul to leave last Thursday.

"We believe it is criminally negligent that you come into a home with 
four children and the person you are looking for isn't even there, 
and the people who are there aren't involved with drugs," Davis said. 
"I don't know what kind of surveillance they did but that can't be 
the standard."
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