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Policing for Jesus .. and suing for secularism
[link=http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/indiana-trooper-pulled-over-woman-to-ask-if-shed-accepted-jesus-christ-as-her-savior-lawsuit/]http://www.rawstory.com/r…as-her-savior-lawsuit/[/link]
Indiana woman pulled over by a State trooper simply to get her to accecpt Jesus as her lord and savior.
An Indiana woman says a state trooper pulled her over this summer and asked if she had accepted Jesus Christ as her personal lord and savior.
The officer also handed her a religious pamphlet advertising First Baptist Church in Cambridge, Ind. According to a [link=https://www.scribd.com/doc/242111717/ISP-Trooper-Lawsuit]lawsuit filed by the ACLUs Indiana branch[/link] on Bogans behalf, the pamphlet also informed her that she is a sinner and offered Gods Plan of Salvation as the remedy for her degenerate state. It also recommended a broadcast hosted by Trooper Dan Jones of Policing for Jesus Ministries.
Theres little information available online about Policing for Jesus Ministries; a Google search primarily brings up reports of Bogans lawsuit. But it is true that Lt. Dan Jones is an Indiana police officer. In fact, hes the[link=http://www.bannergraphic.com/story/2126148.html]commander of the Putnamville District post[/link], a role that carries some influence.
Its unclear, of course, if Jones is aware that Hamilton advertised his ministry on the job or even how he defines policing for Jesus. Regardless, his prominent position, combined with the ministrys title and its appearance in Hamiltons dubious tract, doesnt exactly encourage confidence in their approach to law enforcement. And it wouldnt be the first time a police force aligned itself with fundamentalist Christianity.Its completely out of line and it just it took me back, Bogan told The Indianapolis Star.
[link=https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/morality-police-ind-state-trooper-allegedly-proselytizes-at-traffic-stop]https://au.org/blogs/wall…ytizes-at-traffic-stop[/link]
As officers of the law, police are required to maintain religious neutrality on the job. Yet from Missouri to Indiana, many seem willing to cross legal boundaries in order to proselytize to the public. Officers are certainly entitled to their personal religious views; theyre even entitled to believe that their jobs might be a bit easier if the populations they serve shared their views.
But when they are acting in a law enforcement capacity they must keep those views to themselves. Brian Hamilton may have believed he was policing for Jesus, like his colleague Don Jones encouraged, but Ellen Bogans church attendance is irrelevant to her driving skills. Its time for police officers to remember that their jobs are to enforce secular law, not the Bible.
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2 Replies
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interesting. Wonder if she’ll win a suit or they’ll just settle out of court. It clearly seems unlawful to pull someone over to get them to convert or whatever he was thinking. Wonder if this trooper is still employed.
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stumble across this thread years later —
case(s) settled. officer fired
[link=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2016/08/11/woman-drops-lawsuit-against-jesus-preaching-ex-indiana-state-police-trooper/88576468/]https://www.indystar.com/…lice-trooper/88576468/[/link]
The notice of dismissal was filed Monday in U.S. District Court. Both parties reached a “private agreement” that was not entered into court, said ACLU of Indiana spokeswoman Kelly Jones Sharp. The notice does not need to be formally approved by a judge.
The lawsuit was the second of its kind filed against Hamilton, who was a 14-year veteran of the agency. In 2014, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of a woman named Ellen Bogan, who claimed Hamilton stopped her for an alleged traffic violation in Union County. After Hamilton handed her a warning ticket, Bogan said, he asked her if she had a home church and [link=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/10/05/lawsuit-state-trooper-preached-jesus-traffic-stop/16678275/]whether she accepted Jesus Christ as her savior[/link].
[link=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2016/04/07/jesus-preaching-indiana-state-police-trooper-fired/82763340/]Hamilton was fired shortly after Pyle’s complaint[/link] was filed. State Police Capt. Dave Bursten told IndyStar in April that Hamilton’s termination was related to an internal investigation into a complaint that he questioned a resident’s religious affiliation in January.
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