ELYRIA, Ohio — According to Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker, an investigation has been opened after a family said police injured their sick child while conducting a raid.
On Wednesday, Jan. 10, at approximately 2:12 p.m., Elyria police's Special Response Team (SRT) raided a house on the 300 block of Parmely Avenue "as part of an ongoing investigation."
During the raid, police claim they used two "flash-bang" devices outside of the house to divert the attention of people inside.
A woman was in the house at the time of the raid with her child. The child was on a ventilator at the time of the raid.
The woman says smoke from the flash-bang devices entered the home and caused her child to be subjected to the fumes for causing the baby to be hospitalized with what she describes as "burned eyes, burned chest, burned arm, burned neck" as well as a lack of oxygen.
She also claimed that one of the officers told her they had raided the wrong house after the raid was over.
Elyria police released a statement denying the allegations from the woman saying the child was not hurt in the incident and that the raid was conducted on the correct house. That statement can be seen below:
"On January 10, 2024, Elyria Police Detectives obtained a court-authorized search warrant for the residence located at 331 Parmely Ave., Elyria, Ohio, as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
"At approximately 2:12 p.m., the Elyria Police Special Response Team (SRT) executed the search warrant at 331 Parmely Ave. which was the correct address of the search warrant. 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.
"After repeated announcements, the tactical team entered the interior of the residence, where an adult female and her 17-month-old child were located. The female informed officers that the child had a preexisting medical condition. Elyria Police Detectives, Elyria Fire Paramedics and the mother assessed the condition of the child, confirming that the child did not sustain any apparent, visible injuries.
"The child's mother informed detectives that she intended on taking the child to the hospital due to the child's pre-existing illness unrelated to the tactical operation; however, she lacked an available car seat for transportation.
"Elyria Police detectives called Lifecare Ambulance to the scene to provide any medical attention that EMS deemed necessary. Lifecare Paramedics arrived on the scene, and the medics assessed the child and provided transportation to a nearby hospital.
"Any allegation suggesting the child was exposed to chemical agents, lack of medical attention or negligence is not true. The investigation that led to the affidavit to obtain a search warrant for 331 Parmely Ave. in Elyria Ohio remains active and ongoing. As the investigation progresses, additional details will be released to the public.
"Lt. Bill Lantz - Elyria Police Investigative Division"
Sunday, Mayor Brubaker released the following statement opening an investigation into the woman's claims. The full statement can be seen below:
"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.
"More to come. Take care.
"-Mayor Brubaker"
The mother's account of the story from a social media post can be seen below:
"It's 2pm, i am making Waylon's bottle getting ready to feed him and then i sit down. Waylon is in his swing watching Ms. Rachel. Everything is calm & normal. In 15 seconds, everything changed. 15 seconds is all it took to flip our world upside down. 2:12pm I heard the loudest knock on the door, i expected my uncle home soon and thought he was messing with me and started walking towards the door. 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. 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 or get him out of the smoke. Every single one was evil enough to sit there and let my baby choke and gasp for air. 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. 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 a whole hour and my baby seeing all kinds of people around but no one helping him.
"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.'"
On Saturday, the mother gave an update on the child's health saying that he had been moved out of the ICU, but continues to slowly recover. You can read more and make a donation in the family's GoFundMe here.