ELYRIA, Ohio — Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker released more than two hours of police body camera video of a controversial police raid a mother said left her 17-month-old medically challenged son in the hospital.
A news release from Elyria police said the search warrant had the correct address. But Courtney Price told News 5 that police didn’t do their detective work for the teen they wanted, and now she and her toddler are paying for it with irritation to her son's lung and skin. Courtney believes her son's injuries came from the smoke produced by two flash bangs that were used during the January 11 police raid.
On one door camera video, you can hear police knock and yell they have a search warrant. The video is from Price’s aunt’s rental house on Parmely Avenue.
But the police body camera video shows officers checking on the condition of Courtney's son and police apologizing for the incident.
Mayor Brubaker issued the following statement:
On January 11th, 2024, the Elyria Police Department executed a search warrant on Parmely Avenue. Following this, allegations of police misconduct arose. I instructed City officials to gather footage from cameras worn by officers on the scene. Given the extreme and disturbing nature of the allegations, I requested that footage be reviewed and released to the public as soon as possible.
Today, that review process, which is required by law, was completed on footage captured by several body-worn cameras. I am releasing that footage now. In addition, I am also releasing several statements and reports written after the incident by those on scene, including a written explanation of all personal information redactions.
The footage captured clear video and audio of the search warrant’s execution, including officers’ actions both inside and outside the home. The footage also includes interactions with both the mother and child throughout the incident.
While the footage captured clearly illustrates what did and did not occur when the search warrant was executed, it does not answer questions of what led to the warrant itself. To answer those questions, I have also requested an external investigation.
At approximately 4:00 p.m. yesterday, January 15th, my office requested the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office begin an investigation into the process to obtain the search warrant, as well as the incident itself. Given the extreme nature of the allegations, I want all remaining questions answered transparently and independently.
I again thank Elyrians for your patience as we worked to get the facts out to you, and I thank the many City staff members who expedited that process.
The following link will take you to the video footage. Attached are reports filed immediately after the incident by officers and medics on scene.
Meanwhile, Courtney and her mother confirmed they are in the process of taking legal action against the city and are demanding the Mayor make a full investigation into police conduct at the scene.
"I hope he does the right thing and holds them accountable. It’s not whether they came in and did the raid wrong or not. It’s that they didn’t do the detective work," Price said. At least an apology to me and my son is deserved. Not once has anyone tried to check on him."
All the police videos can be found here.
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RELATED: Elyria mom wants apology after police raid house with her medically-challenged toddler inside
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