State v. Gonzales

Hill, J.:

In this case we consider how far police can investigate after making a public safety stop of an automobile. These detentions are sometimes called community caretaking stops. In Kansas, police can stop vehicles for safety reasons. Because the Highway Patrol Trooper exceeded the scope of the safety stop here by asking routine investigative questions after his safety concerns were nullified and continued the detention to run a background check on the vehicle’s occupants, we hold the subsequent search of the vehicle illegal and reverse Severo Gonzales’ convictions for various drug…