The mayor of Elyria, Ohio, has spoken out on an incident in which SWAT officers conducted a raid on a home and injured a 17-month-old baby with a flashbang grenade. The officers had raided the wrong house.
The mayor’s comments come after an outpouring of outrage against the botched operation, which put the baby in the hospital with serious injuries. The chief of police denied any wrongdoing on the part of his officers.
In a statement on Facebook Saturday, the mayor acknowledged the seriousness of the matter and pledged to expedite the release of the bodycam footage.
I take seriously allegations of police misconduct. When those allegations involve a child I become deeply concerned.
When I first became aware of the allegations regarding the search warrant on Parmely Ave., I instructed my team to immediately gather all available information, including bodycam footage.
My team and I are reviewing that footage now. While there is a standard process of redacting personal information to protect residents’ privacy before such footage can be released, I have requested that process be expedited.
All bodycam footage of this incident will be released to the public to the fullest extent permitted by law. I want you all to have the facts and know exactly what occurred in this situation.
In the meantime, my thoughts are with Baby Waylon. As a father myself, my heart goes out to any child struggling with special health needs. Please join me in sharing a thought or prayer for him.
The incident occurred last Wednesday while Courtney Price and her baby son Waylon were at home. Price told RedState that police threw flashbang grenades into the residence before busting the door open and breaking windows. They quickly placed her in handcuffs and took her outside of the home, leaving the baby inside.
Waylon was born prematurely and suffers from a host of ailments. He cannot eat by mouth and has to be fed through a feeding tube.
🧵Imagine being a mother on a peaceful afternoon, January 10, 2024. It's 2:00 P.M. in the afternoon, and you're caring for your year-old baby boy, preparing his bottle. He's nestled in his swing, watching Ms. Rachel on the television.
— Doni 🤓🏴🏴☠️ (@DoniTheDon_) January 13, 2024
Everything is peaceful and calm. But in an… pic.twitter.com/nzLg9Fw8DG
Elyria Police Chief Bill Pelko claimed the officers did not throw the flashbangs into the home, but detonated them outside of the residence. He also insisted that the baby suffered no injuries. However, the above footage appears to show one of the officers tossing the grenade into the home.
Moreover, Price told RedState that she had to take Waylon to the doctor on two occasions. The doctors confirmed that he had suffered light burns and chemical pneumonitis, which is an inflammation of the lungs.
He has chemical pneumonitis, which is inflammation in the lungs, irritation in the lungs. His soft tissue is irritated and inflamed. His heart is irritated and inflamed. He has chemical burns around his eyes. He had light chemical burns on his chest, arms, belly, and that has since gotten a lot better. The eyes are still pretty bad. My son was born so premature, he already had eye issues, and now we don’t know how it’s going to affect his eyes.
The officers were searching for a 14-year-old boy who had lived in the home two years ago before Price’s family rented it. They had visited the home on five occasions before the raid and were told he no longer lived there and had moved down the street.
The incident ignited anger and frustration on social media and in the community, with many calling for accountability. Price indicated that Waylon’s condition is currently improving, but they are not sure when she will be able to bring him home. The family is currently raising funds with a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical costs.
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