Lawyer for disfigured toddler’s family to meet with U.S. Attorney

The lawyer representing the parents of a toddler disfigured by a flash bang grenade discharged during a botched drug raid will meet Tuesday morning with federal prosecutors, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

Attorney Mawuli Davis said he will press U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates to charge those responsible for the planning and execution of the May raid targeting a suspected drug dealer.

Nineteen-month-old Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh’s nose was detached from his face after the stun device, lobbed by a member of the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, inadvertently landed in his playpen where he was sleeping. The alleged meth peddler did not live at the home and was arrested later that day at a separate location without incident.

Last week, a Habersham grand jury opted not to charge anyone involved in the incident. The case agent who prepared the affidavit securing the no-knock search warrant resigned, surrendering her Peace Officer Certification. She is now prohibited from writing warrants or making arrests again.

“The grand jurors unanimously agreed that this was ultimately more fitting of the the circumstance and more appropriate than criminal charges and potential jail time,” they wrote in their presentment.

Federal authorities have been following the investigation by state and local authorities from the beginning. In a statement released last Tuesday, Yates said prosecutors “will review the matter for possible federal charges.”

Bou Bou’s medical bills — which Habersham County won’t pay — have already topped $1 million and he still faces numerous surgeries, said family spokesman Marcus Coleman.