During the 24-hour event, dubbed “Operation Impact,” Tonganoxie police made 30 traffic stops.

“We went basically from midnight to midnight,” said acting Police Chief John Putthoff. “The first evening, there wasn’t a whole lot.”

But then, the number of traffic stops picked up.

According to Putthoff, eight officers:

• Issued 10 citations for speeding.
• Issued one citation for not using a seat belt.
• Made two arrests. One was for driving with a revoked license and obstruction of the legal process for giving the officer a false name and date of birth. The other arrest was for obstruction of the legal process for running from the officer and flushing down a convenience store toilet what was believed to be drugs.
• Cited five people for equipment violations, including non-functioning lights.
• Cited six people for running stop signs.

And Putthoff said six drivers were issued warnings.

Although he said he wasn’t certain what the police department’s daily average was, the number of tickets issued on Thursday was higher than normal. If rain hadn’t been falling off and on during the day, Putthoff said, it’s possible more citations would have been issued.

“People tend to drive a little bit slower,” he said. “But the officers were still out there.”