NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Metro Nashville Police have decommissioned three officers after police executed a search warrant at the apartment of an uninvolved family.
As a result, Chief John Drake ordered a lieutenant, a sergeant, and an officer at the West Precinct be decommissioned while the investigation continues, he announced at a Wednesday press conference, WSMV reported.
A query of an MDHA database available to police showed that a 16-year-old lived at the apartment. The police department learned Tuesday the database had not been updated since Nov. 2018.
The 16-year-old and his mother reportedly moved out of the apartment last summer, while the new family lived there for approximately four months.
“There appears to have been a lack of confirming through other means, including surveillance or checking with human sources, that the 16-year-old lived there,” Drake said. “We have to be better than that, and I absolutely assure you, we will be moving forward.”
Moreover, Drake ordered all applications for search warrants by an MNPD officer must be approved at the Deputy Chief of Police level, rather than the employee’s component supervisors.
Chief Drake said the following at a press conference Wednesday:
No innocent family in Nashville, anywhere, should be subjected to what the mother and her two children went through on Tuesday morning. They were awakened by a team of officers who banged on their door and ultimately knocked it in with a ram. It appears that the mother was not given the proper time to come to the door before it was breached. It also appears that the West Precinct did not exercise due diligence in confirming that the 16-year-old who was the subject of the search warrant even lived at that apartment. In light of this scenario, we will be conducting a review of our search warrant processes and provide whatever updated training is necessary to help ensure that Tuesday’s scenario is not repeated.
Midtown Hills Precinct Commander Dwayne Greene has met with the apartment’s current resident and apologized to her on behalf of the police department, reported WSMV.
Police will continue outreach to the resident and her children.
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