Pubdate: Fri, 04 Feb 2005
Source: Tennessean, The (TN)
21137 6
Copyright: 2005 The Tennessean
Contact:  http://www.tennessean.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447
Author: Ian Demsky

SHOTS FIRED AT OFFICER WORKING UNDERCOVER

One Man Held; Weapon Tested For Clues To Shooter

Shots fired at an undercover Metro police officer Wednesday night won't 
deter the department's drug-fighting efforts, police said yesterday.

Officer Martin Gonzalez of the West Precinct's crime-suppression unit drove 
to the John Henry Hale Homes, a public housing complex, on Jo Johnston 
Avenue at 9:15 p.m., according to police accounts. The officer, assigned to 
look for street-level drug activity, eased his undercover vehicle toward a 
group of four people standing in the 5 block of 16th Avenue North.

He asked the group about making a drug purchase. But one of them pegged him 
as a police officer and said so. His cover blown, Gonzalez began to drive 
away. Two shots were fired, one of which struck the rear door of the vehicle.

"If the shot was fired in an effort to intimidate, it didn't work," Metro 
police spokesman Don Aaron said. "The area will continue to receive the 
attention of the West Precinct's crime-suppression unit."

Police responding to the area after the shots were fired saw one person 
running and chased him to a playground on 13th Avenue.

Thomas Neal Cosby, 18, of Torbett Street, was arrested and charged with 
trespassing on Metro Development and Housing Agency property, evading 
arrest and resisting a police stop. Last night, he was being held in lieu 
of $75, bond.

Police said Cosby admitted being in the group of four, but denied being the 
shooter.

A 9mm semiautomatic pistol found in a bush off 16th Avenue North is being 
tested to determine who handled it, Aaron said.

John Henry Hale Homes is an area where police have focused drug enforcement 
after receiving tips and complaints.

Police did not want to describe the vehicle involved in Wednesday's 
shooting because the car is shared among different undercover units and 
used in a variety of operations.

The vehicle "probably won't be used at the John Henry Hale Homes any time 
soon," Aaron said, "but it will probably be used in other investigations in 
the near future."

Police do not believe Gonzalez's cover was so far blown that he couldn't 
work other operations out of the West Precinct.

"Undercover officers have a variety of ways of changing their appearances," 
he said.

The John Henry Hale Homes, built in 1951 and containing 498 public housing 
units, are scheduled to be demolished later this year.
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