This week, Kansas lawmakers passed a law (that many are surprised wasn’t on the books already) forbidding the state’s law enforcement officers from having sex during traffic stops.
The law was signed by Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer on Thursday and bans police from having sex “during the course of a traffic stop, a custodial interrogation, an interview in connection with an investigation, or while the law enforcement officer has such person detained.”
The law was introduced by Rep. Cindy Holscher in part because investigators uncovered evidence of a Kansas City detective who for years allegedly coerced sex from black women by threatening to arrest them or their family members.
According to the Wichita Eagle, until the law was signed, Kansas was one of 33 states in which sex between a police officer and a person in custody was not illegal. Kansas did, however, have a law in place forbidding law enforcement officers with having sex with inmates in jail.
Many Kansas lawmakers were shocked that a law forbidding traffic stop sex wasn’t already on the books.
Speaking on the need for the new law, Rep. John Whitmer noted, “Most officers are great guys and women who are working hard, but there’s always the one.