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.
With the lights on his marked police car still flashing, the trooper handed Bogan a warning ticket. Then, Bogan said, Hamilton posed some personal questions.
Did she have a home church?
Did she accept Jesus Christ as her savior?
"It's completely out of line and it just — it took me aback," Bogan, 60, told The Indianapolis Star. 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."
Wow that is incredibly inappropriate.
On the other hand the officer did not shoot her, taze her, or sexually assault her, so considering recent stories about law enforcement scandals this woman got off kind of lucky.
Still I think this woman has a strong case and I would certainly like to see this trooper at the very least get an official reprimand, and perhaps a reminder that the side of the road is really no place for proselytizing.
He sounds like a person who should be in the megachurch industry.
ReplyDeleteGet his badge number and have a city council meeting about it. Invite all the mainline ministers and priests to attend. Plus all others who feel affronted by road-side religious counseling, with the threat of law on his side.
DeletePOS is abusing his position to promote his church. He's in the wrong line of work. Get rid of him.
ReplyDeletebeyond the pale ..
ReplyDeleteGod damn it (ironic, hunh?) we fought a long and bloody revolution to get away from a state-sponsored religion (The Church of England).
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable, and incredibly unprofessional. You would think someone who is smart enough to be a state cop would also realize that religion is NOT his business.
ReplyDeleteHe may not deserve to be fired, but a serious talking to by the brass is in order
Hmmmm.... wonder if she had any bumper stickers, like COEXIST, the Darwin fish, a gay bride rainbow or Obama 2008. Because then we are talking harassment.
DeleteWhere did you ever get the idea that you have to be smart to be a state cop? A good friend's son dreamed of being a state cop. He took the tests and was rejected because the personality tests revealed he was too nice.
ReplyDeleteThis cop would be happy to know that whenever I see those flashing lights in my rear view mirror, I proclaim loudly "Jesus Fucking Christ, now what?"
ReplyDeleteHey I go to that church , too!
DeleteThe only "official reprimand" that would mean anything would be firing his ass!
ReplyDeleteI got stopped by a cop (I was doing 47 in a 25). He asked if I was a member of the church that was in the direction I was speeding from. I said yes and got out of a $300 ticket.
ReplyDeleteI found out about the price when I told my co-workers the next day and one of them said they were doing 22 miles over the speed limit and that's the cost.
Hey, what can I say, the cop should have separated church from state. :-)
That cop would have dumbfounded by my extensive explanation of why I am NOT a Christian and haven't been one for 20 years. He would have been sorry, but enlightened a wee bit.
ReplyDeleteAnd would have given you a ticket instead of a warning.
DeleteI think that's what this comes down to.
Not only abuse of power but corruption too.
And I would have still filed a complaint about what he said
Delete@ Aragon 64 - "Hiya, Bertrand!"
DeleteSeveral years ago a friend of mine got a ticket for speeding in a school zone. When she went to court to appeal (she hadn't actually been speeding, and she had a witness), the judge told her that if she went to church for four Sundays in a row and brought him the bulletins as proof, he would waive the ticket. He made the same offer to someone ahead of her on the docket, but it was six Sundays because that person had a DUI. We don't need no separation of church and state here in Georgia, y'all!
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to stay for the whole service to pick up a bulletin. In fact, if you have a family member that goes you can ask them to save the bulletins for you.
DeleteThis sort of abuse of power is right up there with judges offering young adult offenders the choice of prison or enlisting in the military. (And probably why the military now has a gang problem.)
We really are a nation of whiny brats, ready to sue if someone says "Bless you" after you sneeze. Discipline the cop; tell the ACLU to get a grip; and everyone drive safely, ok?
ReplyDeleteNo, not okay. It's clear the cop would have had a different penalty in mind had the driver been Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, atheist, or an adherent to a brand of Christianity of which he does not approve.
Delete@ 9:56
DeleteSurely you jest! The man is a representative of government. And there are far too many places in this country which believe that there is no separation of church and state. This NEEDS to be a federal suit to slap the shit out of anybody else thinking of trying it!
The more we let these damned fools get away with crap, the more they will do.
And 11:32 is right!
NO, NOT OKAY. On his own time and dime, fine and dandy - I can walk away. He has on a uniform, he can compel people to stay - abuse of power, infringement etc. Not to mention abuse of my tax funds - what if I'm of a non-Christian religion - how do non-Christians get equal representation by proselytizing cops?
DeleteABSOLUTELY NOT OKAY! Would you feel it was okay if he had been using his official traffic stop to convert someone to Judaism, Islam, or any of a myriad of religious views? And, as a matter of fact, I am offended when someone says "Bless you" when I sneeze. I always wonder what indication I had given them that I live in another century, believing in some ridiculous superstition.
DeleteSarahPalinChannel has as many as zero (0) comments on some of her posts. Most of them are below 30. Some soar up to 89; a few are over 100.
ReplyDeleteSorry. after two months this is a FAIL.
Gryphen would punch a bitch if that happened to him
ReplyDeleteCops are outta control. They are shooting innocent people daily. Some puke CHIEF of police just got a talking to after he raped a woman in his office. He tied her up, sexually assaulted her, left her there while he went to a meeting in another part of the bldg. While she was tied up she managed to call her boyfriend who came and rescued her.They do not have to be smart to get on the force, just a freakin' bully. As far as I am concerned they can all go fuck themselves.
ReplyDeleteEarthymama/Chicago
I have "cops" in my family, but none of them would dare pull a prank like this and humiliate those he/she's sworn to protect and serve. I hope this lady sues and wins, this invasion of privacy is poor treatment by an officer in the position of power are wrong on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteI only had two bad experiences being pulled over, they were minor compared to this but I made sure to show up w/proof the police were in the wrong.