Georgia County Won’t Pay Medical Bills for Toddler Critically Injured by Flash Bang Grenade During Drug Raid

Politicians like Rep.
Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) who have supported the militarization of
police but have found it politically unfeasible to do so now have
been looking for a way to square their support with a little bit of
politically-motivated outrage. Clay, whose district includes
Ferguson, the town that helped catapult the issue of police
militarization into the national news cycle, defended his vote,

saying he only disapproved of the use of such police forces for
crowd control in his district.

But while their presence at protests may be the most prominent
manifestation of militarized police, the problem is endemic.
Perhaps Clay and the rest of them ought to subscribe to Reason to
inform themselves better.

Earlier this year, we brought you the story of Baby Bounkham, who was
severely injured after a Georgia SWAT team threw a flashbang
grenade that landed inside Bounkham’s crib—cops were serving a drug
warrant based on information from a confidential informant about a
small amount of meth. The raid yielded no drugs and no suspect.
Cops insisted they did what they could to prepare and didn’t know
there were children in the house, two seemingly contradictory
contentions. The sad case illustrates the interplay between the

war on drugs, militarized police, and police brutality.

The story didn’t elicit national outrage, and a friend of the
family raised just
$38,000 in two months to cover Boumkham’s medical bills.
They’re going to need more than that, as the county government has
ruled it would be a “violation of the law” for it to pick up the
medical costs their officers created the necessity for.

WSB-TV
reports:

Habersham County’s attorney provided the following statement,
saying: “The question before the board was whether it is legally
permitted to pay these expenses. After consideration of this
question following advice of counsel, the board of commissioners
has concluded that it would be in violation of the law for it to do
so.” 

The attorney for Boo Boo’s family insists that is not good
enough.

Those not discussing serious changes in the laws that protect
cops and create situations like this, where a government can say
it’s against the law for it to pay the medical expenses created by
its officers violent actions, ought to be ignored as the noise over
the Michael Brown shooting continues. Police violence is not just a
problem in Ferguson, not just a problem during protests, not just a
problem for young black men, but a problem with the laws cops
enforce, the tools they’re given to do so, the erosion of our
rights in the name of public safety, and the protections cops enjoy
when they’re wrong

h/t pdogg