During traffic stop, state trooper asked driver if she accepted Jesus, ACLU suit claims
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An Indiana state trooper gave a woman a warning ticket and then a religious brochure after he pulled her over for a traffic stop, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.
The suit filed on behalf of the driver, Ellen Bogan, says the trooper’s actions violated Bogan’s First and Fourth Amendment rights, the Indianapolis Star reports. The Indiana Law Blog linked to the complaint (PDF), filed Sept. 23.
The suit alleges State Police Trooper Brian Hamilton prolonged the traffic stop in August 2014 after he issued the warning. He asked Bogan whether she had a home church and whether she had accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior, the suit claims. Bogan answered yes because she felt she couldn’t say no, according to the suit.
Then Hamilton asked Bogan if he could give her something, the suit alleges. Bogan said yes because she did not feel she could disagree. Hamilton then gave Bogan a brochure for the First Baptist Church in Cambridge that included information about a radio broadcast by another trooper called “Policing for Jesus Ministries,” the suit says. A copy of the brochure is here (PDF).
“I’m not affiliated with any church. I don’t go to church,” Bogan told the Indianapolis Star. “I felt compelled to say I did, just because I had a state trooper standing at the passenger-side window. It was just weird.”
