Seeking to preserve the "no-knock" warrant as a police-safety tool, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, along with various Ohio county prosecutors sought the support of Gov. Mike DeWine and legislative leaders on a compromise: changes in state law that would tighten the requirements for obtaining such a warrant.

"Executing a search warrant in cases involving drug dealers, human traffickers and other violent offenders is inherently dangerous for law enforcement," Yost said. "When a warrant is sometimes necessary, officers should be properly equipped to make the safest entry possible, and a no-knock warrant, a waiver of the statutory 'knock and announce' requirements, is the right tool to safeguard them."

In a letter sent to Gov. DeWine, Senate President Larry Obhof and House Speaker Bob Cupp, Yost and the three prosecutors, a bipartisan group representing Ohio's three largest counties, note that a "no-knock" warrant is typically granted only in extraordinary circumstances.

Instead of banning such warrants, the letter signees suggest changes to Ohio law that would require a more robust justification for their issuance.

Those suggestions include:

• Raising the threshold to substantial risk of serious physical harm to officers.
• Clarifying that the phrase "good cause" means "probable cause" and does not mean a "reasonable suspicion," which is a lower standard.
• Barring no-knock warrants when allegations encompass only misdemeanor drug possession or the possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Requiring officers conducting a no-knock warrant to wear readily identifiable markings and to identify themselves as soon as possible upon entry.
• Requiring officers conducting a no-knock warrant, absent exigent circumstances, to wear and activate body cameras.

Prosecutor O'Malley said the recommendations would not only restrict but also clarify the use of no-knock warrants statewide.