Too bad it took an old lady being killed to do it.
ATLANTA (AP) -- A group of lawmakers wants to make it harder for police to use "no-knock" warrants in the wake of a shootout that left an elderly woman dead after plainclothes officers stormed her home unannounced in a search for drugs.
The measure would allow judges to grant the warrants only if officers can prove a "significant and imminent danger to human life."
and near the end:
"Every citizen ought to be safe and secure in their homes," Fort said. "A no-knock warrant should be a special warrant, not a standard. And that's what it's evolved into."
This last is the key: these warrants are only supposed to be used in cases of actual need: not because someone likes them, or likes breaking in doors, or whatever. They're like tactical teams, a very useful tool that's been overused, and too often for crap where a hammer is not called for.
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