The family of an infant disfigured by a stun grenade deployed during a botched drug police raid in Habersham County last year have welcomed efforts to restrict so-called “no knock” search warrants by the Georgia Legislature.
“They are very optimistic and hopeful,” said Mawuli Davis, the family’s attorney. “A real conversation changing and transforming how no-knock warrants are executed is for them a breath of fresh air.”
His comments came as state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, has filed Senate Bill 45 to mandate that law enforcement officers show probable cause that an "act of knocking and announcing would likely pose a significant and imminent danger to human life or imminent danger of evidence being destroyed."
A separate House Bill 56, sponsored by state Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville, would, in most cases, bar the use of no-knock warrants between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Tanner would also require law enforcement agencies to develop written policies and training for the use of the warrants and require a supervising officer to present when the warrant is executed.
The inspiration for the legislation, Bounkham “Baby Bou Bou” Phonesavanh, is still recovering from severe wounds caused by the blast from the grenade, which landed in his playpen and dislodged his nose and damaged his mouth and chest.
The use of no-knock warrants have been controversial, including the 2006 killing of 92-year-old Atlanta resident Kathryn Johnston after officers stormed her home with such a warrant.
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