This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Law enforcement officers would have to be clearly identified and wear body cameras when they executed no-knock warrants under a bill that advanced Tuesday in the Senate.

Sen. Steve Urquhart's SB82 (first substitute) is designed to rein in the circumstances where the no-knock warrants can be used ­— explicitly prohibiting their use if police are investigating simple possession of drugs or paraphernalia.

Law enforcement and the Utah League of Cities and Towns expressed concern about mandating that police executing no-knock warrants wear body cameras, since some agencies don't have cameras. Wade Carpenter, president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, said chiefs would like to be able to decide at the department level how cameras are used.

Nevertheless, Urquhart's bill won unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee and it moves to the full Senate for consideration.

The no-knock warrants are not frequently used — about 3 percent of all warrants issued — and are typically used when police may be at risk if they announce their presence.

In one instance, Salt Lake City had to pay $75,000 to an elderly resident whose door was rammed in by police, who then pointed guns at her during a mistaken drug raid in 2012.