Lawsuit: State trooper preached about Jesus during traffic stop
Selected paragraphs:
Quote:
Ellen Bogan expects police to protect and serve — not proselytize.
But she says Indiana State Police Trooper Brian Hamilton pitched Christianity to her when he pulled her over for an alleged traffic violation in August on U.S. 27 in Union County....
Bogan and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Hamilton. The lawsuit alleges he violated Bogan's First and Fourth Amendment rights when he probed into her religious background and handed her a church pamphlet that asks the reader "to acknowledge that she is a sinner."....
"The most important thing for people to understand is that the First Amendment specifies that the government shall not prefer one religion over another religion, or religious adherence over anything else," said Jennifer Drobac, a professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis who has studied religion and government.
"The police officer is representing the government ... so that means, as a representative, this person, while on duty, while engaged in official action, is basically overstepping and is trying to establish religion."....
Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, said that although the traffic stop might not have been the best time to quiz someone about faith, he questioned whether a police officer should lose his right to free speech because he is wearing a badge.
"I have people pass out religious material all the time. Mormons come to my door all the time, and it doesn't offend me," Clark said. "(This case) might not be the most persuasive time to talk to someone about their faith, but I don't think that a police officer is prohibited from doing something like that."....
That cop is so lucky he didn't run into someone like me. I would having him doubting his faith in less than five minuets.
