Jury won't convict deputy for no-knock raid that maimed toddler

Little "Bou Bou" before he was burned in the May 28, 2014, SWAT raid by Habersham County Sheriff's Office

A jury has declined to convict the only law-enforcement officer charged after a no-knock drug raid gone wrong that left a toddler maimed, prompting one commentator to point out that now it's known that "drug warriors can endanger innocent people's lives through sloppy police work without committing a crime."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that jurors found Nikki Autry, a former Georgia sheriff's deputy, not guilty of civil-rights charges that stemmed from the May 2014 raid on a home where police claimed a drug dealer was staying.

During the raid, a flash-bang grenade that was tossed into the home landed in the playpen of 19-month-old Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh, severely injuring him.

The report quoted Autry's attorney saying he was "ecstatic" with the result, and the parents of the injured child infuriated.

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"I cannot believe this. How can we justify this? We didn't do nothing. We were sleeping," the toddler's father, Bounkham Phonesevanh, told the paper.

U.S. Attorney John Horn expressed disappointment in the result.

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The case resulted after a Habersham County grand jury late last year ruled the investigation leading to the raid was "sloppy" but no criminal charges should be filed. Federal prosecutors then moved into the case, alleging Autry "knew the informant she relied on didn't buy drugs from anyone inside the house, that the informant wasn't a proven reliable source and Autry didn't confirm there was heavy traffic coming and going at the house," the report said.

Those factors led a magistrate, who later testified he would not have granted a search warrant if he'd been told the truth, to issue the permission for that no-knock raid.

A commentary at Reason.com charged that the defense was based on claims the officer "lied on a search warrant affidavit by mistake."

It said prosecutors alleged Autry fabricated details "to manufacture probable cause for a search."

"Prosecutors emphasized that the raid would not have happened without Autry's misrepresentations," the commentary said.

"Although Autry's 'mistakes' led directly to Fourth Amendment violations that resulted in Bou Bou's injuries, the jury declined to hold her responsible," the commentary said, noting the earlier grand jury "decided that her resignation 'in lieu of possible termination,' combined with her surrender of the peace officer certification that enabled her to work in law enforcement, was 'more appropriate than criminal charges and potential jail time.'"

"The only principle she has vindicated is that drug warriors can endanger innocent people's lives through sloppy policy work without committing a crime," it said.

The family of the toddler was staying temporarily with relatives following a home fire at their Wisconsin residence, and the child was injured when an officer-thrown flash-bang grenade landed in the playpen where he was sleeping and exploded in his face.

Reports said the suspected drug dealer was arrested at another home later. No drugs ever were found in the home the officers assaulted.

The Journal-Constitution reported the family also reached a $964,000 settlement with the Habersham County commissioners earlier, and still have lawsuits pending against other counties in the multi-agency group that did the raid.

The former deputy had been accused of several federal civil rights violations for the injury to the toddler for her actions while she was a special agent with the Mountain Judicial Circuit Narcotics Criminal Investigation and Suppression Team.

WND reported earlier that it was a federal grand jury that finally indicted Autry, after the local grand jury decided allowing her to resign was enough.

The child has required more than a dozen reconstructive surgeries, costing more than $1 million, already.

John Whitehead, a constitutional attorney and author of several books on government abuse of power including "A Government of Wolves" and "Battlefield America," told WND earlier confidential criminal informants are notorious for giving police bad information.

"Many of these informants are unreliable. I'm told this by police across the country," Whitehead said. "Often it's someone the police may have something on. So that's not the way to go."

Whitehead said 80 percent of SWAT raids are for mere warrant service, where a simple knock on the door would suffice.

"Looking at this case, that is what they should have done, knock on the door," he said. "But they took a military approach instead and went to attack the house, knock the door down in the middle of the night and used a flashbang. That's all military tactics, and they view people differently as the military."

"Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare Is Becoming Our Reality" chronicles how America has arrived at the point of being a de facto police state, and what led to an out-of-control government that increasingly ignores the Constitution. Order today!