KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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The Leawood City Council approved an ordinance Monday that allows police to engage with minors who are riding motorized or electric devices, like e-bikes and e-scooters, without a helmet.
Council members had three options before them:
- Require helmets for minors riding motorized or electric devices
- Require helmets for minors riding all bikes, scooters, unicycles or skateboards
- Not approve either ordinance
Council members voted 5-3 in favor of the first option.
“I am a mom of three, and I want them to go out and explore the world around us," Jaclyn Penn, a Leawood parent, said. "I just want to make sure they’re doing it safely.”
When Penn doesn't drive her children to school, they ride their bikes. She is a part of the city's Bike/Walk Committee.
She, along with the committee, advocated for the broader ordinance option that included all bikes and scooters.
“Passing it for e-bikes and e-scooters is at least a step, but I’m certainly disappointed that it wasn’t all bikes, because again, our children are riding all types of bikes," she said.
At Monday's meeting, multiple council members who voted for the passed ordinance said they favored that option because of the heightened risks of electric and motorized devices due to speed. Some council members said they did not want to "overstep" as a governing body to include all bikes and scooters.
The Leawood Police Department first asked the city council to consider adopting the ordinance on Oct. 6, 2025.
Police Chief Brad Robbins said officers have witnessed children riding e-bikes and e-scooters without helmets for years.
“We’re not parents, we don’t have a lawful reason to stop them," Robbins said.
The department made the request for the ordinance a week before 10-year-old Duke Ommert was killed while riding an e-scooter on Oct. 13, 2025, in Leawood.
While Ommert was wearing a helmet, his death gave the effort more attention.
The new ordinance gives Leawood police a legal pathway to create safer streets.
“I think there’s a misconception that we’re trying to get out and start writing kids tickets," Robbins said. "That’s not it at all. We wanted a legal mechanism to be able to stop and engage our youth.”
Robbins said while there is a $25 fine for violations, officers are focused on education and safety. The department said officers will prioritize writing warnings as residents adjust to the new rule.
The ordinance applies to riders under the age of 18 on Leawood's streets, sidewalks, trails and other public spaces.
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