A baby had to be transported to the hospital after police in Elyria, Ohio, allegedly detonated a stun grenade through a window where his bassinet was located while police were searching for an armed robbery suspect – at the wrong address.
“All I saw were flashes of light and smoke coming into the house. I didn't know what to do because there were guns pointed at me. I wanted to run to my baby, but I knew if I ran to him, they could have shot,” new mother Courtney Price, 25, told Cleveland 19 News on Friday.
Last Wednesday, around 2:15 p.m., the young woman was alone at her uncle and aunt's house, where she was awaiting open-heart surgery for her then 17-month-old little Waylon. There were about 20 officers from the Elyria Police Department's SWAT team allegedly breaking one of the living room windows without warning.
Except that beneath the window from which police allegedly sent a stun grenade, a tool designed to distract a suspect with intense noise and light, was the premature baby, on a ventilator and suffering from severe lung disease and a heart defect would. according to the mother's statement to local media.
“They dragged me out of the house, handcuffed me, I kept screaming, 'Baby, my baby, my baby is here!' I was outside for 35 or 45 minutes while my baby was inside,” she reportedly continued.
In a statement Saturday, Elyria police confirmed that they had offered hospital transport for the baby because of a “pre-existing medical condition unrelated to the tactical operation” and denied that it caused any harm to the baby.
“Any allegation that the child was exposed to chemicals, did not receive medical care or was negligent is false,” police said in a statement.
However, after being discharged from the hospital that evening, the little one would have required a second emergency hospitalization because of dangerously low blood oxygen levels the next morning. He was reportedly diagnosed with chemical pneumonia due to the chemicals contained in the pomegranate, according to the mother.
In addition, the search warrant was aimed at finding firearms that were allegedly used in a robbery by a 14-year-old suspect who had not lived at the address for more than a year and the police knew it, emphasized the young Redia Jennings woman's aunt.
“[Ils sont déjà venus] about five times […] “Several investigators were looking for him, the Crown Prosecution Service and the school official,” she sighed.
Police said an investigation was underway to shed light on the incident, while the family said they planned to take legal action against the authority.