Indiana Cop Being Sued for Proselytizing During Traffic Stops

By Alison Lesley --
09 Apr 2016 --

For the second time in a row, Indiana cop Brian Hamilton was charged with proselytizing to a civilian while he was on duty.

Wendy Pyle was stopped by Indiana state police trooper Brian Hamilton in January 2016 for allegedly speeding on the highway. After she pulled her car over onto the side of the road, Hamilton approached her car and asked for her driving license and registration and issued her a warning ticket for speeding.

Indiana Cop Being Sued for Proselytizing During Traffic Stops[/tweetthis]

Then something peculiar happened. Instead of Hamilton letting her go with a warning, he went on to probe into her religious beliefs and faith and asked Pyle which church she attended and whether she thought she was ‘saved’ by the Lord Jesus.

@nytimes I'd be asking the cop ' did jesus carry a gun, baton, tazer & handcuffs? ' ??https://t.co/2CHyyPs9tn"
— Aarononian (@Aarononian) April 8, 2016

These questions obviously took Pyle by surprise but she answered him saying that she did in fact attend a church and that she was saved in an attempt to end the strange inquiries. Hamilton then went on to invite Pyle to his church and even gave her directions to it. Pyle hesitantly thanked the officer and drove away.

Pyle then went on to file a formal complaint with the Indiana state police and even alleged that Hamilton put her name in his church prayer list. Pyle also claimed that the entire traffic stop was extremely disturbing and upsetting and was unreasonably long.

@NYDailyNews @skookerG Indiana State Cop's "Motor Ministry" ends as he's fired for proselytizing. This is the best news I've heard all day!
— bleusharque (@bleusharque) April 8, 2016

The court ruled in favor of Pyle and said that Hamilton had violated her rights under the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution and that she was entitled to punitive and compensatory damages payable by the state. She is, however, seeking a jury trial and attorney fees too.

This wasn’t the first time that Brian Hamilton was charged with proselytizing. In August 2014, he pulled over Ellen Bogan for apparently passing another car which she denied doing. Instead of being asked for her license and registration documents she was bombarded with questions like whether she had a home church and did she accept Jesus as her savior.

Hamilton then told Bogan to acknowledge the fact that she was a sinner by handing her a pamphlet issued by his church. She too filed a lawsuit against Hamilton and he was advised by the court not to question the religious beliefs of citizens and not to preach or advocate his religion to others using church pamphlets and similar forms of advertisement. The case was settled eventually.

What is strange, however, is that the same month in which Wendy Pyle was stopped by Brian Hamilton is the same month when ISP Capt. Dave Bursten claimed that Hamilton was transferred to a desk job and was no longer on patrol. This was on January 15, after Pyle had already filed a complaint against Hamilton. So the question lies as to whether he was really transferred to an administrative job or if he was still on patrol.