Charges have finally been filed.
In the spring of 2014, a Habersham County SWAT team executed a no-knock raid on the home where
19-month-old Bou Bou Phonesavanh was asleep with his family. It was 2 A.M. and agents broke through the door, tossing flashbang grenades, one of which landed in Bou Bou's crib, leaving him critically injured and permanently disabled.
Police found no weapons, no drugs and no charges were ever filed.
The Phonesavanh family faced nearly $1 million in medical bills and the city finally reached a settlement with the family. Now they may finally see legal justice as well:
Habersham deputy sheriff Nikki Autry, working with the multi-agency Mountain Judicial Circuit Narcotics Criminal and Suppression Team, was indicted on four counts of criminal civil rights violations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Without her false statements, there was no probable cause to search the premises for drugs or to make the arrest,” acting U.S. Attorney John Horn said Wednesday. “And in this case, the consequences of the unlawful search were tragic.”
Autry was accused of using an unreliable informant who purchased a small amount of methamphetamine, though not at the residence where the raid was conducted.