L E B A N O N, Tenn.



A 61-year-old man was shot to death by police while his wife was handcuffed in another room during a drug raid on the wrong house.Police admitted their mistake, saying faulty information from a
drug informant contributed to the death of John Adams Wednesday
night. They intended to raid the home next door.The two officers, 25-year-old Kyle Shedran and 24-year-old Greg
Day, were placed on administrative leave with pay.“They need to get rid of those men, boys with toys,” said
Adams’ 70-year-old widow, Loraine.John Adams was watching television when his wife heard pounding
on the door. Police claim they identified themselves and wore
police jackets. Loraine Adams said she had no indication the men
were police.“I thought it was a home invasion. I said ‘Baby, get your
gun!,” she said, sitting amid friends and relatives gathered at
her home to cook and prepare for Sunday’s funeral.Resident Fired First Police say her husband fired first with a sawed-off shotgun and
they responded. He was shot at least three times and died later at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.Loraine Adams said she was handcuffed and thrown to her knees in
another room when the shooting began.“I said, ‘Y’all have got the wrong person, you’ve got the wrong
place. What are you looking for?“‘“We did the best surveillance we could do, and a mistake was
made,” Lebanon Police Chief Billy Weeks said. “It’s a very severe
mistake, a costly mistake. It makes us look at our own policies and
procedures to make sure this never occurs again.” He said,
however, the two policemen were not at fault.The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating. NAACP
officials said they are monitoring the case. Adams was black. The
two policemen are white.Family members did not consider race a factor and Weeks agreed,
but said the shooting will be “a major setback” for police
relations with the black community.“We know that, we hope to do everything we can to heal it,”
Weeks said.Johnny Crudup, a local NAACP official, said the organization
wanted to make sure and would investigate on its own.Weeks said he has turned the search warrant and all other
evidence over to the bureau of investigation and District Attorney
General Tommy Thompson. A command officer must now review all
search warrants.