A furious mum has told how an armed-to-the-teeth police SWAT team left her cricically ill baby gasping for breath when they hurled stun grenades into the wrong home.
Defenceless 17-month-old Waylon Price, who was born with a hole in his heart, allegedly cut by shattered glass and burned by chemical gas in the raid in Elyria, in the US state of Ohio.
Bungling police had asked for a court order to raid the house on 10th January, apparently unaware that their suspect had moved out.
Shocking police bodycam footage of the raid shows at least 15 officers outside the property’s front door wearing full body armour and carrying military assault rifles.
As officers scream at the occupants to come out others smash windows and hurl stun grenades, designed to disorient suspects with an ear-ringing bang and a bright flash.
Mum Courtney Price is seen clearly dazed shuffling out and being placed in handcuffs as she warns officers that Waylon is on a ventilator inside.
Later hospital photographs of Waylon on a GoFundMe page show him with red burns around his eyes and breathing through a tracheostomy tube in his throat.
The tot had been born premature with breathing difficulties and was waiting for an operation to repair the hole in his heart.
In a terrifying post later Courtney told of the moment police burst into her home.
On the GoFundMe page titled ‘Justice For Waylon’ she says: “When I got to the top of the steps I noticed it was police and then the next thing I know the door bust open, the windows are busting out around us.
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“I have multiple guns pointed at me and i just freeze in fear I see my baby getting covered in smoke.
“I was screaming ‘My baby, my baby, he’s on a ventilator, my baby is in here.’
“I was grabbed by my arm and jerked out the door and put into handcuffs.
“There were 20+ officers in the house. Not one had the decency to check on my baby, get the glass off him.
“Every single one was evil enough to sit there and let my baby choke and gasp for air.”
She added: “The SWAT team had 2 medics, one listened to him with a stethoscope and said ‘sounds clear’.
“My baby did not sound clear. He doesn’t sound clear on his best day much less after inhaling a bunch of chemicals.
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“He needed 6 more liters of oxygen, his belly was retracting SO hard and his vent settings needed turned up.
“The negligence from Elyria Police Department caused my baby to have burned eyes, burned chest, burned arm, burned neck.
“They caused my baby to stop breathing for a few seconds this morning. They caused my baby to struggle to breathe.
“They caused my baby to have to go all day without eating. They caused my baby to go through horrendous pain.
“Imagine a defenseless baby, laying in chemical filled smoke burning his eyes, body, lungs, heart for almost half an hour and my baby seeing all kinds of people around.
“This has changed us forever. I debated on posting these pictures, but I want everyone to know what they did.
“I want them to see what they did to my innocent, precious baby. No apology, no nothing. Just a ‘Sorry, wrong house’.”
Four days later on 14th January Courtney said her son is still receiving treatment, adding: “This can not be acceptable.
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“Still no apology, just trying to cover everything up. Legal action is being took. This will be made right.”
Bizarrely, police later claimed they had raided the right address, but apparently at the wrong time.
Elyria police investigative division head Lt Bill Lantz insisted: “At approximately 2:12 p.m., the Elyria Police Special Response Team executed the search warrant at 331 Parmely Ave. Which was the correct address of the search warrant.”
And they claimed their stun grenades could not have injured baby Waylon.
A statement obtained by Newsflash said: “During the tactical operation, two diversionary devices. Commonly known as a ‘flash-bangs’ were deployed outside of the residence.
“These devices produce sound and light that is noticeable in day or night conditions and are intended to distract the suspects attention.
“Diversionary devices do not produce a continuous burn and they do not deploy or contain any pepper gas or chemical agents.”
They claim Waylon suffered no “apparent, visible injuries” and say they organised an ambulance to rush him to hospital.
The statement went on: “Any allegation suggesting the child exposed to chemical agents, lack of medical attention or negligence is not true.”
Waylon’s GoFundMe appeal has reached nearly USD 32,000 of a USD 50,000 target.
