GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The attorney for a former deputy charged in connection with a botched raid claims the feds are after her.
During the raid, a flash-bang hit and severely injured little Bounkham Phonesavanh. He is still recovering.
Former Habersham County Deputy Nikki Autry faces federal charges she violated the injured baby's civil rights, along with other people there the night of the raid in question.
She wouldn't talk after a short arraignment Tuesday, but did speak with state investigators on at least two occasions.
"I said, 'Are there any signs of children there?' And they said, 'Nothing but a minivan,'" Autry told authorities in taped interviews.
She said she had a bad feeling going into the botched May 2014 drug raid. She said she felt rushed.
"You're knocking on the judge's door at 12:15 and you've got SWAT team waiting on you. And you're trying to get everything together before the defendant gets home," Autry said.
During the raid, a flash-bang thrown by a drug task force agent landed in the playpen of "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh. He was badly disfigured.
The suspect the task force was after wasn't there.
Amid a local grand jury investigation, Autry resigned her post, promising not to work in law enforcement again, but then the feds moved in, finding Autry mislead a magistrate judge with the information she gave to obtain the no-knock warrant.
"Does that mean I shouldn't have put more details in it? I probably should have," Autry said.
In Gainesville federal court Tuesday, Autry pleaded not guilty to the four counts. She walked out of court free on bond.
"It's horrible what happened to Bou Bou Phonesavanh, there's no question about that," said attorney Jeff Brickman. "I think they thought they had to have someone to be the blame."
Brickman says his team will take this case to trial. It could go before a judge sometime early next year.
WSBTV
