Pubdate: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 Source: Tennessean, The (TN) Copyright: 2000 The Tennessean Contact: 1100 Broadway, Nashville TN 37203 Fax: (615) 726-8928 Website: http://www.tennessean.com/ Author: Warren Duzak 2 MORE OFFICERS PLACED ON LEAVE FOR THEIR PART IN BOTCHED DRUG RAID LEBANON -- Two additional police officers have been placed on administrative leave after being involved in a misdirected drug raid in which a homeowner was shot to death, Lebanon Police Chief Bill Weeks said yesterday. Lt. Steven Nokes and Officer Tommy Maggort were suspended for their roles this week in the misidentification of a home targeted in a search warrant for drugs. John Adams, 64, was shot and killed about 10 p.m. Oct. 4 when officers burst into his home and, according to police, Adams fired a shotgun at them. Police were supposed to raid the home next door. The Lebanon Police Department has suffered from the ill-planned raid, and it is important to restore its credibility, but gaining public trust is not as easy as losing it, Weeks said. "The only way to do that is to earn it, and we fully intend to do that,'' Weeks said. Weeks said Nokes is the supervisor of the department's Narcotics Investigation Unit, and has worked for the Lebanon Police Department for about 10 years. Weeks described Nokes as a "highly educated and skilled individual." Maggort was a case officer with that unit, the chief said. Maggort has been a Lebanon police officer for about three years and is considered a well-trained and excellent officer, Weeks added. Both were involved in pre-raid surveillance designed to document the location of a home an informant previously entered to make a drug buy. Both were part of the team of seven officers involved in the raid. Both have good performance records, Weeks said. Police Officers Greg Day and Kyle Shedran, who were not involved in the preparatory surveillance but entered the home and fired the fatal shots, were placed on administrative leave immediately after the shooting. Although the two homes are distinctively different at close range, Weeks said indications are that the angle of surveillance led to the mistake. The search warrant that the team of seven officers had that night had the correct address but incorrectly contained a description of the Adams house. Adams was at home with his wife, Lorine, who said police did not identify themselves when they knocked and she asked who was at the door. The door was kicked in when Lorine Adams did not open it. Police said officers are trained to identify themselves in all but the most dangerous situations, and Lebanon officials said the officers did identify themselves that night. In fairness to both the department and the community, the suspensions were necessary pending the outcome of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigations probe and an internal investigation into Adams' death, Weeks said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens