Senate committee approves limits on "no-knock" warrants

Police say "no-knock" search warrants are a critical crime-fighting tool at times when regular search warrants do not work.
“We have served search warrants before where, as soon as they see you coming, they’re running to the bathroom to either hide evidence or destroy evidence,” says Fayetteville Police Chief Steven Heaton. “And in the case of a gang house, where you’ve got weapons at home, or potentially have weapons at home, they’re hiding weapons and they’re hiding other evidence.”
Heaton says "no-knock" warrants give police a fighting chance in those instances.
But Atlanta Senator Vincent Fort says police are using them "wily nily." He belives if a judge had not given Atlanta police a no-knock warrant, 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston might be alive today.
Johnston died in a gun battle with police in November. The police had obtained a no-knock warrant, although evidence indicates that they had no real proof of crime occuring in Johnston's home.
Fort has offered a bill stating that officers could only obtain no-knock warrants if they could show a judge probable cause that lives would be in danger, and evidence would be destroyed otherwise. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure by an unanimous vote. Police say the measure limits their ability to obtain no-knock warrants, but not to the point where it would hinder their work.