Kansas Highway Patrol needs to end its 'two-step' practice of vehicle stops

Let’s talk about the “Kansas two-step.”

No, it’s not a dance.

The so-called two-step is when a Kansas state trooper pulls over a driver for a traffic infraction and, after issuing a ticket, takes steps back toward their vehicle. The trooper then turns around and initiates a new interaction with the driver, which the highway patrol classifies as a voluntary stop.

The agency acknowledges the “two-step” is used to gather information when a trooper lacks sufficient cause for a thorough search and can be used as justification to lay the groundwork for a drug-sniffing dog in an effort to find illicit drugs.

More:Kansas Highway Patrol says it is documenting driver detentions. Its records say otherwise.

That's shady at best and a violation of our constitutional rights at worst. Either way, it’s not a great look for the KHP.

Superintendent Herman Jones said the KHP in September began documenting stops that didn't amount to anything. An officer must outline why they saw fit to detain and potentially search a motorist and the document must be reviewed by a supervisor.

The Topeka Capital-Journal’s Andrew Bahl found through Kansas Open Records Act that troopers infrequently file the reports, raising questions about their effectiveness. The highway patrol reported only 22 Vehicle Detention Reports were filed between September 2022 — when the policy took effect — and mid-May.

Bahl reported earlier this month the “two-step” is being challenged in court by the ACLU. The ACLU has argued that, in practice, this has been part of an abuse of traffic stops targeting out-of-state motorists, notably those from Colorado, where recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012.

The highway patrol maintains its policy is that a motorist's state of residence isn't enough to pull them over. Now that Missouri has also legalized recreational marijuana we’re sure the practice is being used near the “Show Me State” border.

More:This Kansas Highway Patrol traffic stop method is on trial. Here's what Herman Jones says.

Bahl reports several lawsuits have been filed as a result of the practice. Earlier this year, two separate federal juries found that individual troopers violated constitutional rights during a traffic stop. A federal appeals court ruled in favor of a motorist who sued the highway patrol in 2012 following a traffic stop in Wabaunsee County, arguing he was targeted because of his Colorado license plate.

We don’t want to see illegal drugs in Kansas. We also want to see our state troopers have the ability to enforce the rule of law.

That being said, we're not in favor of the “two-step” method because it seems like an unnecessary search and seizure. It’s time to sunset the practice.