This is a horrifying story out of Georgia, where a toddler is in a medically-induced coma after being severely burned by a police "flash bang" grenade that was thrown in his crib during a late night drug raid.
Baby in Coma After Police 'Grenade' Dropped in Crib During Drug Raid
19-month-old Bounkham Phonesavanh and his family were sleeping at their relatives' house, visiting from Wisconsin, when a police team burst into the home early Wednesday morning. They were acting on an informant's tip that he had purchased methamphetamine at the house earlier in the day.
An officer tossed a flash bang -- used as a distraction device -- that landed in the child's playpen and detonated in his face. Bounkham, or "BouBou," suffered massive burns on his face and chest.
Authorities did not make any arrests, nor did they find anything at the house during the raid.
"The door was locked, so they breached it with a ram, inserted a device," Terrell said. "It was dark, they couldn't see."
The SRT is taught to insert the "flash and bang" three to five inches inside the door. "Unfortunately there was a pack and play there," Terrell said. "It does get hot. It uses gun powder to flash… it's used as a distraction device," Terrell said.
An SRT member took over the care of the child as soon as he realized what happened as the child started screaming and yelling, the sheriff said.
A whole side of the baby's playpen was blown out, the boy's mom said.
"The pillow where he lay was blown up, char marks all over his pillow and the mattress of the playpen itself," Phonesavanh said.
According to the sheriff, officers had no indication that any children were inside. Bounkham's mom says that's bullshit -- there were toys and shoes all over the place. They should have known.
Police later arrested the Phonesavanh's nephew, 30-year-old Wanis Thonetheva -- at another house -- on felony charges of knowingly and willfully distributing methamphetamine.
The Phonesavanhs have been temporarily staying at their relative's home for two months, after a fire at their Wisconsin home. Bounkham is now in a medically induced coma, and it could be weeks before it's known if he'll survive. Meanwhile, a family friend has created an online fundraising page to help the Phonesavanhs cover the cost of his medical care.
More here: Toddler critically injured by ‘flash bang’ during police search
