***Watch previous coverage in the video above.***
ELYRIA, Ohio (WJW) – The Elyria Mayor’s Office is investigating a police house raid that a family says left a 17-month-old toddler hospitalized.
As FOX 8 previously reported, family members say the child is in the ICU with chemical burns after Elyria police threw a flash-bang while raiding the Parmely Avenue home Wednesday afternoon.
The family told FOX 8 the person officers were looking for, believed to be a teen, doesn’t live there.
“As they are banging on the door, they throw the flash-bang through the window and it goes over top of here and hits the baby. The baby is covered in glass,” said Reida Jennings, who rents the home.
In a Friday press release, Elyria police said the warrant and subsequent raid is part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Police said two flash-bangs were deployed outside the home.
Police went on to say any allegations of the child’s exposure to chemical agents, negligence or lack of medical attention are false.
Courtney Price, the toddler’s mother, told FOX 8 she was handcuffed and led outside the home while she was pleading with officers to help her son, who was staying there ahead of surgery for a heart defect.
Price says her son, who was born premature, now has chemical burns and other complications after the raid.
“He has chemical pneumonitis which is inflammation of the lungs and irritation of the lungs and the soft tissue around the lungs,” Price told FOX 8.
The family believes investigators were trying to arrest a previous tenant of a previous owner.
In a statement on Facebook, Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker said, “I take seriously allegations of police misconduct. When those allegations involve a child, I become deeply concerned.”
The mayor said his team is reviewing all bodycam video from the incident. He said all footage would be released to the public “to the fullest extent permitted by law.”
“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,” the statement read.
