No Charges for SWAT Who Hurt Toddler

On Monday, a Georgia grand jury recommended that no charges be brought against the Habersham County SWAT team that critically injured a toddler during a raid. Bounkham Phonesavah, 19 months old, spent weeks in a burn unit after the team’s flash grenade exploded near his sleeping body on May 28. The team threw the grenade into his home while they executed a search warrant for a drug arrest. While the grand jury called the raid “sloppy and hurried,” they found no cause for criminal charges. “I think what people have to be careful about—there’s a difference in criminal responsibility versus, of course there will be a civil lawsuit, but also some of the personal accountability,” said District Attorney Brian Rickman.