“The War is a simple question of numbers. Stop enough cars, and you will find drugs.”
By Rachel Mipro, Kansas Reflector
A federal judge has ordered the Kansas Highway Patrol to stop using its infamous “two step” technique. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas describes this as a “huge victory” for all motorists who use state highways.
The U.S. district court ruled KHP’s policies and practices violate the Fourth Amendment, releasing a Friday opinion that the KHP “has waged war on motorists–especially out-of-state residents traveling between Colorado and Missouri on federal highway I-70 in Kansas.”
The case challenged the constitutionality and “Kansas Two-Step” maneuver of KHP targeting “suspicious people” such as out-of-stateers for vehicle searches using drug-sniffing canines. The “two-step” technique is taught to KHP officers. It involves ending a routine traffic check and then attempting to gain access to the vehicle in order to search for contraband.
Our clients were traumatized by their experiences being detained on the sidelines of the road by the KHP. These experiences were traumatic for our clients, and we cannot emphasize how much they affected them. We are grateful that the Court intervened when it saw the harm caused by KHP’s unconstitutional conduct.
— ACLU of Kansas (@aclukansas) July 21, 2023
KHP spokespersons were unable to comment on the current situation.
“The war is essentially a matter of numbers. Stop enough cars, and you will discover drugs,” the view added.
Blain Shaw was stopped near Hays on his way with his brother to Denver, where he planned to visit friends and family. Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Doug Schulte stopped him for speeding in an area of 75 mph on Interstate 70. He reported that he had seen Shaw drive 91 mph. Schulte issued a ticket to Shaw, walked off and returned after doing a “trooper double-step”.
The trooper asked Shaw and Shaw’s brother if there were any illegal items in their van, like firearms or drugs. Shaw refused to allow Schulte to search the van, even though he answered no. The trooper called a K-9 team to search Shaw’s vehicle.
Although the troopers did not find any evidence of drug use, they required Shaw to go to a law enforcement agency nearby to have copies made of his Colorado identification card, medical marijuana registration, and medical records.
We turn a simple situation of releasing a ticket into something long, degrading and dangerous when we allow police to stop people on pretext, assume they are drug traffickers and search their cars and keep them at the roadside.
— ACLU of Kansas (@aclukansas) July 21, 2023
The incident escalated into a lawsuit challenging the Kansas Highway Patrol policy. Schulte’s legal defense claimed that he violated the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when he searched Shaw’s car.
Shaw and other plaintiffs were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, Spencer Fane LLP and filed Shaw v. Jones, in 2020, to contest KHP’s practice of restraining motorists with license plates from out-of state and its “two-step maneuver”. Herman Jones was the defendant in this case, acting in his official capacity of KHP Superintendent.
The case was consolidated along with a separate lawsuit brought by Mark Erich and Shawna Malcolmoney who had their RV ransacked in 2018 by KHP troopers, in another “two step” incident.
After two weeks of trial, the court has reached a decision.
The court held Jones accountable for unlawfully detaining drivers in Kansas, particularly those from out-of-state, without reasonable suspicion or consent. It also declared that the Kansas Two-Step is a violation of the Fourth Amendment because it extends traffic stops without “reasonable suspicion and without motorists’ intelligent, voluntary and knowing consent.”
This is a big win for our clients, and anyone who uses Kansas highways. We are pleased that the Court recognized the harms caused by KHP’s unconstitutional actions and intervened to stop its widespread misconduct.
Brett said: “It shows that the courts will not accept the cowboy mentality in policing, which subjects our citizens’ to humiliation, degrading conditions, and, tragically, violence.”
Reflector inquires for comments were not immediately answered by the Governor’s Office spokesperson.
This article was originally published by Kansas Reflector.
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