WICHITA, Kan. - Ninety-three per cent of the Kansas Highway Patrol’s traffic stops in 2017 involved cars with out-of-state plates, according to a lawsuit challenging the practice as an infringement on motorists’ constitutional rights. In an amended lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of three plaintiffs, including two Oklahoma brothers who initially filed the complaint, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and a Kansas City, Missouri, law firm contend that the traffic stop statistics show that the Kansas Highway Patrol specifically targets out-of-state drivers, including many on the main highway connecting Kansas with neighbouring Colorado, because that state’s legalized marijuana. The lawsuit, which lists the Kansas Highway Patrol, its superintendent Herman Jones, and two troopers as defendants, argues that specifically targeting out-of-state drivers infringes on such drivers’ constitutional protection from illegal searches and seizures. The Kansas Highway Patrol said it cannot comment on pending litigation. The complaint also challenges a law enforcement practice known as “the Kansas Two Step,” a manoeuvr used to detain drivers for canine drug searches.

Source: thestar January 30, 2020 17:55 UTC