The Pensacola Police Department says they have launched an internal investigation after an early morning SWAT raid that left a one-year-old needing medical attention and the father charged with attempted murder.
The incident occurred early on February 10, when Pensacola SWAT executed a search warrant at a home at 4:30 a.m.
24-year-old Corey Marioneaux Jr. was asleep in the home with his two children, ages one and three, when SWAT officers rammed his front door, executing a warrant of electronics. Marioneaux fired his gun at what he thought were intruders, striking an officer’s shield and prompting officers to fire back.
Fortunately no one was injured in the shootout.
“Once he found out it was the police, he laid down the weapon, he came out with his hands up,” Marioneaux’s pastor told Channel 3. “So that lets you know this isn’t an aggressive cop killer that wouldn’t do harm to anyone.”
According to Pensacola Police, Marioneaux was not a suspect in the search warrant and is a licensed gun owner.
Still, the 24-year-old father was arrested and charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. He was released from jail on $50,000 bond.
The Pensacola SWAT raid is eerily similar to the February 2 no-knock SWAT raid by Minneapolis police that killed 22-year-old Amir Locke. Locke was asleep in an apartment when SWAT entered the apartment and shot Locke within 10 seconds. Locke was not named in the search warrant and was also a licensed gun owner.
Baby hurt in incident
Marioneaux’s two children were also present in the home during the Pensacola SWAT shooting incident. After Marioneaux was taken into custody, the children’s mother said she was “woken up by a phone call.”
Moiya Dixon was asleep at her own home when she received a call saying that her one-year-old was injured after a SWAT raid.
“I get out my car like, ‘Where’s my baby? Where’s my baby?’,” Dixon said. “And I get my baby and I see his face, and it’s almost unrecognizable compared to how he looked when I left him last.”
A picture shows the child’s nose and lip swollen, a scrape on his lip, scratches on his nose and several bumps on his forehead.
Pensacola Police released the following statement after the family raised questions about the child’s injuries:
“After the search warrant was served, two children who were inside the residence were in the backseat of a car with a PPD investigator while they were waiting on family members to arrive to pick them up. A large vehicle approached that needed assistance navigating through the vehicles that were in the road. The investigator got out of the backseat to assist the driver. One of the children was leaning on the door of the car when the investigator opened it to get back in, and fell out of the car. The investigator wasn’t aware that the child was leaning on the door. The child was checked by EMS for injuries. Both children were later released to family members.”
Dept. of Children and Families is investigating
An EMS was called by police for a hemorrhage and laceration on the toddler, and arrived six minutes later. The EMS call was canceled 20 minutes later without the toddler being taken to the hospital.
Dixon took her son to the hospital herself where the child received CAT scans and X-rays. She claims the Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating the way Pensacola SWAT handled the situation.
“It’s been very disturbing and overwhelming not knowing the truth of what happened to my one-year-old,” Dixon said.
Police Chief Eric Randall met with Dixon in person and “had a conversation with her,” according to police. Dixon says he apologized and promised to investigate what happened.