Ga. reconsiders no-knock warrant rules

[Eugene]

(Associated Press)

Ga. reconsiders no-knock warrant rules

By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer

Thu Mar 1, 8:39 AM ET

ATLANTA - 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."

The measure was prompted by the Nov. 21 shootout between Kathryn Johnston and
three police officers during a no-knock search of her Atlanta home. When the officers
entered without warning, police say that Johnston, 92, fired a handgun at them and
that the officers returned fire, killing her. An autopsy concluded she was shot five
or six times.

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Democratic Sen. Vincent Fort, a sponsor of the bill, said the case was a warning that
it has become too easy to obtain "no-knock" warrants.

"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."

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Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070301/ap_on_re_us/elderly_shootout