Toddler Injured in No-Knock Drug Raid Gets Settlement

The family of a toddler injured in a no-knock drug raid in Habersham County receives a settlement approved by a federal judge.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that on Friday, a federal judge awarded a $1.65 million settlement to the parents the toddler injured in 2014 by deputies using a flash-bang grenade while serving a no-knock warrant at a Cornelia residence.

According to the AJC, the new settlement is to be paid by insurance policies held by Rabun and Stephens counties, which were also members of the Mountain Judicial Circuit N.C.I.S. Drug Team involved in the raid, and brings the total awarded to the toddler’s family of to nearly $3.6 million.

The AJC said it also brings an end to civil proceedings in the case after the family previously settled civil cases against Habersham County and the city of Cornelia for around $1 million apiece.

In December, the only law enforcement officer criminally charged in the raid was acquitted.
The “no-knock” search warrant was served during the early morning hours of May 28, 2014.

It was during the execution of that warrant when a Habersham County deputy sheriff tossed a flash bang grenade into a side door of the residence, landing in a room where a toddler was sleeping.

The grenade landed inside the toddler’s playpen and critically injured him.

The child continues to recover from his injuries.