Today a Senate panel voted to tighten rules on how police in Georgia can obtain "no-knock" warrants. The measure was prompted by a shootout that left an elderly Atlanta woman dead after plainclothes officers stormed her home unannounced. No-knock warrants are intended to prevent suspects from getting rid of evidence and to protect officers from potentially violent suspects. Currently police must prove there's "reasonable suspicion" before being granted the power to enter a home without knocking first. The new measure would require police to prove a "probable cause."
