Family of Toddler Burned in Police Raid Faces $1M Debt

»Alecia Phonesevanh and Bounkham Phonesevanh, with their injured boy, nicknamed “Bou Bou,” who was hurt in a police raid. Courtesy of family’s website.

The parents of a toddler who was critically injured when a flash-bang grenade detonated in his crib during a Georgia police raid say authorities have reneged on a deal to pay the $1 million in medical expenses the family now faces, and can’t possibly pay.

Bounkham Phonesavanh and his family returned to Wisconsin in July as he recovered from critical injuries suffered in the May 28 raid, reports WSB TV. Alecia Phonesevanh and Bounkham Phonesevanh, the parents of the injured boy, nicknamed “Bou Bou,” have denied they knew of drug sales at the Habersham County house where they stayed.

In late May the child was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, according to a previous Patch story. The grenade was meant to distract residents of the house suspected of selling drugs, but when it exploded on Bou Bou’s pillow, he was severely burned and spent weeks in a medically induced coma. His mother told WSB he suffered a brain injury from the explosion.

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The family was staying at Alecia Phonesevanh’s sister-in-law’s after their own family home in Wisconsin was lost in a fire.

Grand Jury Finds Problems, No Charges

A Habersham grand jury that looked into the police raid found “the drug investigation that led to these events was hurried, sloppy,” reports WSB TV, but the jury did not recommend criminal charges against any of the officers involved. No drugs were found in the house, and the suspect police sought was later arrested peacefully.

“They made the mistake,” Alecia Phonesavanh tells the TV station. “And we got the backlash of everything.”

The story of the raid that injured Bou Bou Phonesavanh – and the tussle over whether Habersham County should pay for the boy’s enormous legal bills – will be featured on ABC’s “20/20” this Friday, Dec. 19, at 10 p.m.

Since the incident, the toddler has undergone surgeries to repair his face and torso, which doctors said was ripped open to the chest wall. Habersham County officials will not pay the estimated $1 million in medical bills, citing a “gratuity” law in Georgia that prohibits them from compensating the family.

But the Phonesavanh’s attorney, Mawuli Davis, says the SWAT took the child away from his parents and to the hospital because of the injury caused by the sheriff’s department, so the county should have to pay the medical expenses.

State law gives the county immunity from negligence claims against it, say officials who argue the payment would be an illegal “gratuity” to the family.

“Before this we didn’t owe anybody anything,” Alecia Phonesavanh told “20/20.” “And now after all this, they have completely financially crippled us.”

How to Help Family

Family friend Holly Benton Wickersham of Janesville, WI, set up a GoFundMe site to raise money for the family. On the site, she wrote: “I’m trying to raise money for my friends Bou and Alecia for their baby who is in intensive care in Atlanta. He needs lots of surgeries and I wanna help raise money to help with bills and food and other things they may need.”

To date, about $42,000 has been donated to the GoFundMe account; the goal is $100,000.

According to a website set up to support the family, donors can also help via PayPal; send a donation to JusticeForboubou@gmail.com. Or visit any Wells Fargo Bank and donate to the trust account for Bounkham Phonesavanh.

Patch’s Earlier Coverage:

Toddler in Coma After Police Grenade Detonates in Crib

Parents of Toddler Burned by Police Grenade: ‘Never Saw Drugs’

Toddler Burned by Police Grenade Ready to Go Home