Kentucky State Police trooper
awarded citation for bravery

Lebanon resident Trooper John Adams (center) received a Citation for Bravery award from Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer (left) and J. Michael Brown (right), Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary on May 20 in Frankfort. A three-year KSP veteran, Adams is assigned to KSP Post 15 in Columbia. –Photos furnished

A Kentucky State Police trooper — with Lyon County roots stationed at Post 15 in Columbia — was cited for bravery recently in Frankfort.
John Edward Adams, a three-year state police trooper, received the award for his actions in a November 2006 incident during a traffic stop he conducted with two Lebanon Police officers and a Marion County deputy sheriff, said a report on the Columbia radio station WAIN.
A state police news release on Nov. 13, 2006 said that at “approximately 6:10 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) the Lebanon dispatch and Post 15 received information concerning a wanton endangerment incident in Boyle County, and were asked to observe for a 1998 Chevrolet, which fled the scene after shots were fired at a parked vehicle at a residence.”
About 10 minutes later the officers conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle on East Main Street in Lebanon, the release said.
Donnie R. Garrett, 57, of Lebanon “jumped from his vehicle armed with two handguns(.22 caliber) and fired at officers,” the news release said. Adams fire two shots with his issued service weapon, striking the suspect once and ending the threat.
Garrett was pronounced dead at the scene by Marion County Coroner Dick Moraja.
Adams is the son of Lyon County Ambulance Service Director Bill Adams and his wife, Lisa. He is a 2002 graduate of Lyon County High School and lives in Lebanon.