Cops Who Flash Banged Infant’s Crib Are Blaming the Baby

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Sadly this is American Society where anything including the most outlandish happened.

So the "SEVENTHDEFENSE" essentially boils (pun intended) down to, "She walked into my fist, Your Honor....how was I to know?"

TENTHDEFENSE
To the extent as may be shown by the evidence through discovery, plaintiffs' injuries and damages, if any, were caused by the deliberate, criminal conduct of plaintiffs, and such criminal conduct supersedes any and all negligence or liability,if any, on the part of these defendants.

"She was asking for it, Your Honor."

Seriously...who hired these attorney's? My assessment of who performed a criminal act here obviously varies considerably from the officers and their legal defense. But "blame the victim"?

Were there ever any charges pressed against the family for anything? What does the defense base its assertion of "criminal conduct" on?

These scumbags defense attorney's excuses are bunk. I think the court, jury, and anyone with half a brain will find the Sheriff's Office and Deputy guilty of negligence, and probably much more like depraved indifference to injuring someone that was not involved in criminal activity at any time. It is the defense responsibility to defend their client and they can get in trouble with the bar if they don't do their best to defend a defendant. However, as I said above the defense is grasping for needles in a stack of needles. It is only going to make the Jury incredulous that they would even try this as a defense. I truly think they will be found guilty and a substantial reward will be given to discourage that behavior in the future. However, the scumbag police will probably pay it by confiscating money and property in Civil Forfeiture of the citizens money where they have jurisdiction.

I used to defend the police, not when they were obviously wrong, but still. That has changed for me. Now, I want proof they were doing the right and correct thing first. In this case, as so many lately, the police are out of control doing very wrong things to citizens and then try to act all high and mighty like they can do whatever they want. There needs to be a legitimate movement in this country to pass laws that clearly make in a prosecuted crime for some of the things that have been going on. They need to be sued personally and as a department and made to pay the price financially, pay with their career in law enforcement, and pay personally with jail time for things like in this case, severely assaulting an innocent baby who posed no threat! And this using the SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) Team is just way overkill for so many things. I could understand going after a violent person who indicated he would be violent with the police. However, we see them raiding farms producing milk because it wasn't pasteurized, and many other raids that absolutely should not have happened.

I mean how many places of business need to have SWAT raids to serve a warrant. If they are so dangerous, the chance of them having customers and doing business are pretty slim. And what criminal in their mind would be selling milk with a chain gun sitting on their desk? They know inspectors come in all the time. Walking in with uniform on would be just fine. Especially 8-10 uniformed officers. But, SWAT? Totally unnecessary. Would you compound a selling unpasteurized milk crime by being an Armed Unpasteurized Milk Trafficker so for example in Florida which has a 10-20-Life Law which gives you an automatic minimum/mandatory sentence of 10 years for committing a felony in possession of a gun, 20 years if you pull it out, and Life if a shot is fired! Over Milk? I seriously don't think so. This crap the police are doing is coming from policies put on them. Training is seriously screwed if they are teaching throwing flash bangs in home when serving a warrant when not knowing there is a threat. A baby is not a threat and I guarantee they are throwing flash bangs when 98% of the time they are not needed. They are simply being trained that way and are acting like German Storm Troopers, not peace officers. Citizens need to protest things like this imho until laws are passed to prevent this except in the case where a known violent offender is holed up inside the building. And, they should be given the opportunity to surrender first unless the suspect has been killing people and they are arresting them for that reason. You can assume that the person may respond with deadly force when being captured.

I hope beyond hope they win a large settlement to sentencing a baby to a life of scars and injury when the poor baby has barely started life and probably doesn't even have a clue why he/she was attacked so violently. And that is what happened no matter how the police try to blame shift and minimize their actions!


A$$hats!

a reply to: johnwick

This is a hoax coming out of Alex "I cant stop lying" Jones..

The case is still in litigation so they cannot discuss particulars, but it was announced last month that the county is paying out a settlement in the case of nearly a million dollars total....

From the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

A nearly $1-million settlement has been reached between Habersham County and the family of Bounkham “Baby Bou Bou” Phonesavanh, the toddler injured last May when deputies threw a flashbang grenade into his crib, government officials said.

An attorney for the family, however, said the case “continues to be litigated.”

The settlement was announced Tuesday evening by Habersham County Commission Chairwoman Andrea Harper and, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, would include a structured payout of $964,000. The money would be paid out as part of a $1-million insurance policy maintained by the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office and breaks down as follows:

• $538,000 paid to Baby Bou Bou’s parents, Alecia and Bounkham Phonesavanh, to cover medical expenses

• $200,000 set aside “to provide for the schedule of future periodic payments” to the todller

• $137,000 paid to Baby Bou Bou himself for “personal injuries”

• $62,000 to Alecia Phonesavanh for “having been subjected to emotional distress”

• A total of $27,000 split evenly among the Phonesavanh’s three other children

In a statement issued on behalf of the county, Habersham County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Andrea Harper said the agreement was “not a perfect solution” but one that “is as fair as possible under the circumstances.”

“Over the last few months the Board of County Commissioners has sought a way to bring some measure of closure to this matter while doing what is right, both for the Phonesavanh family and the law enforcement officers involved,” Harper said. “For that reason we have reached a limited settlement with the Phonesavanhs that allows for a payment to them in exchange for protection of the officers and the county.”

link

This is old news... apparently Alex Jones cannot manage to read a paper before spouting every lie he can think up.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

It's more like saying in the course of apprehending someone fleeing from police there was a traffic accident and the baby in the back of the fleeing vehicle got hurt.

It wouldn't have happened if the person hadn't committed a crime and wasn't fleeing.

Most likely BS, but that's how I'm reading it. More like we made a mistake doing something legal. Not sure that's going to do them any good, especially since they just charged in like a bunch of dumbasses (as I recall). If the parents had barred the doors or were shooting at the cops or something, yeah, maybe I'd be a little more willing to buy it.

a reply to: OpinionatedB

That is great and exactly what should happen. But, I still think LAWS, not policies, should be passed to put a permanent stop to this behavior unless the suspect is being arrested for a crime of violence (which should also be defined in the law) and penalties personally for officers the break these laws including being terminated, not allowed in law enforcement anywhere, and a financial penalty that must be paid like anyone else that gets a fine, i.e.: not able to be paid by the Department or Agency and not paid by the Police Benevolent Association, but paid by the officer themselves to prevent this kind of crap going on all over the place, albeit this is the first baby I head about. Maybe there should be 'treble damages' if it is a child under 12 of some particular age.

For those that don't know, treble means triple.

a reply to: smurfy

How can he reconcile that with what the lawyers are now saying in trying to criminalise a baby? The Sheriff can't that's for sure, he's already said the opposite!

He can't. No one can.

That's why I thought it must be a parody website.

a reply to: OpinionatedB

This is a hoax coming out of Alex "I cant stop lying" Jones..

Right!

The guy is a joke.
Thanks for posting that.

This is old news... apparently Alex Jones cannot manage to read a paper before spouting every lie he can think up.

I think he doesn't even try.
He just grabs it and runs.....just like Glenn Beck.
And Sean Hannity....
and....all of those people.

That is what they do.

And - they get rich doing it.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

That is what makes me so mad... its all about money.

Journalists are the source for the truth in this country... they have always been who people look to, to dig up the real truth, to keep us informed so that we can make informed decisions as citizens in this country.. and now...

now Journalism is a money making industry same as the film industry or any other, and now we have to run around finding the truth ourselves in order to stay informed... and most simply don't have the time to do that..

its insane.. freedom of the press and all those constitutional laws were about protecting a people (journalists) so that they COULD tell it to us like it really is without fear...and now.. now that same class who is protected - is quite literally protected for nothing.. because all they want to do is spout lies and BS so that they can make a few bucks..

truth be damned..

its sickening.. for real.

a reply to: OpinionatedB

It's sickening, all right!! High five, sister!

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

a reply to: infolurker

THIRDDEFENSE

These defendants show that under all of the facts and circumstances, their conduct was discretionary in nature, was not in violation of any clearly established constitutional right of which a reasonable officer would have had fair notice, and was likewise objectively reasonable, thereby entitling these defendants to qualified immunity.

Where have I heard the term "qualified immunity" before... oh right now I remember: Cops Beat & Kidnap 12-yo Girl in Front of her Home, Claiming She was a Prostitute

If you ask me the problem isn't the guy who threw the flash grenade, it was his job to throw the flash grenade and stun the people inside the house. The problem here is that the law permits no knock raids, based on an anonymous tip no less. I find that to be outrageous, and the fact it leads to events such as this one prove that no knock raids need to be stopped, at least when they have little to no real evidence. I thought they needed solid evidence which they can then present to a judge and get a raid warrant, but apparently I was mistaken, and actually they just do what ever the hell they feel like doing. And when their reckless actions lead to the disfigurement of an infant sleeping in a crib, they simply claim they are not liable and should be entitled to official immunity, and even go so far as implying it was the fault of the infant.

in a healthy society, people help in such pomogite.in.ua... cases Sevastopol in February 2014, is now give such an advertisement, and will receive assistance in Russia, in the Crimea, in the Novorossia the strangers help give the last fire victims , and the state will help . and did not receive in Ukraine, it is the essence of "democracy" every man for himself

a reply to: OpinionatedB

:Slow Clap:

It really is disheartening. The job used to be something entirely different, it was respectable, the people who did it weren't nearly as often in it for the money or fame. It was a noble calling. Today, not so much. There was a thread the other day that linked an article about some woman who was arrested after her child missed too many days of school. The ENTIRE article was written by someone who read her Facebook page and essentially reposted it.

The laziness and injection of personal opinion on crappy internet sites is destroying journalism. The loud and provocative get more hits, even if they are essentially lying. There are too many idiots that think if they read something it's correct, especially when it aligns with their own views.

Of course journalism has always had it's issues, but it seems far worse now. I can't think of a single site that I would actually trust. I am just as distrustful of the sites that are counter to the "MSM" as I am of the "MSM". They're ALL making money off of us. Some have figured out that giving idiots the news they WANT is just as, if not more profitable. Natural News springs to mind.

I'm pretty sure most places start off with good intentions, but they start tweaking to keep views, either for monetary reasons, or because they think its permissible if they have good intentions. Most likely both.

The average person hasn't been able to keep their BS detector updated in relation to the speed at which BS travels. That and so many people seem to love being outraged now. It's more fun than realizing things are multi faceted and a grey area most of the time.

a reply to: Domo1

The average person hasn't been able to keep their BS detector updated in relation to the speed at which BS travels. That and so many people seem to love being outraged now. It's more fun than realizing things are multi faceted and a grey area most of the time.

I do agree with you, and a most excellent post truly.

The problem is, people seem to want "news" that agrees with their biases (as you already noted); they don't want to explore those grey areas (which oddly is where most things happen to sit) but they are doing so at the expense of being an informed citizenry.

We should be the ones raising cane over news outlets that don't give it to us straight and true - we should be the ones demanding better from our news media. It is only us who can make those demands and have them heard, yet so few are making the demands.

I would love to see that change someday, and I honestly hope that when we finally make those demands that it is not too late.

Seriously? Are you referring to the same America that believed Saddam had WMDS? The same America that sits idly by while their constitutional rights are flushed or the other America where cops get a free pass for the sake of political expediency?

I mean you no offense, but the sad truth is the sad truth
a reply to: crazyewok

a reply to: crazyewok

Not a hoax, dear
From the court document:

FIFTH DEFENSE: Plaintiffs' damages, if any, resulted solely from the voluntary and intentional conduct of plaintiffs or others and not from any conduct of these defendants or those over whom these defendants had any control.
SIXTH DEFENSE: Plaintiffs' damages, if any, were caused by the independent acts and decisions of persons and entities other than these defendants or those over whom these defendants had some legal right of control.
SEVENTH DEFENSE: To the extent as may be shown by the evidence through discovery, these defendants show that plaintiffs' damages, if any, were directly and proximately caused by the contributory and comparative negligence of plaintiffs and their failure to exercise ordinary care.
TENTH DEFENSE: To the extent as may be shown by the evidence through discovery, plaintiffs’ injuries and damages, if any, were caused by the deliberate, criminal conduct of plaintiffs, and such criminal conduct supersedes any and all negligence or liability, if any, on the part of these defendants.
ELEVENTH DEFENSE: To the extent as may be shown by the evidence through discovery, these defendants also assert the affirmatives defenses of assumption of the risk, failure to avoid consequences, laches, failure to mitigate damages, last clear chance and sudden emergency