Jesus-preaching Indiana State Police trooper sued again

Indiana State Police Trooper Brian Hamilton was warned before: Stop proselytizing to people during traffic stops.

But a new lawsuit claims the trooper — who was sued once before for preaching on the job — didn’t learn his lesson the first time.

A complaint filed in federal court Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, on behalf of Wendy Pyle, accuses Hamilton of asking her whether “she had been saved” after pulling her over in Fayette County in January. Court documents claim Hamilton then told the woman about his church and gave her directions to it.

“Ms. Pyle was extremely uncomfortable with these questions,” the lawsuit says. “In order to hopefully end these inquiries Ms. Pyle indicated that she did attend a church and that she was saved.”

If this story sounds familiar, that’s because Hamilton has been sued before. The ACLU filed a similar lawsuit in 2014 when a woman named Ellen Bogan claimed Hamilton stopped her that August for an alleged traffic violation in Union County. After he handed her a warning ticket, she said, he asked her if she had a home church and whether she accepted Jesus Christ as her savior.

“I’m not affiliated with any church. I don’t go to church,” Bogan told IndyStar at the time. “I felt compelled to say I did, just because I had a state trooper standing at the passenger-side window. It was just weird.”

Bogan’s lawsuit was eventually settled. According to court records, Hamilton was counseled not to question others regarding their religious beliefs, nor was he to provide religious pamphlets or similar advertisements to them.

Hamilton was named as the new lawsuit's sole defendant. A call to a phone number associated with him was not returned Wednesday afternoon.

ISP Capt. Dave Bursten said Hamilton is no longer on patrol and was moved to an administrative desk job Jan. 15 after a complaint was filed against him.

It's unclear whether that event is connected to Pyle's lawsuit. Bursten said the department does not release information about complainants.

"We don't want people to be afraid of making a complaint because they think we're going to publicize their name and create stress for them," Bursten said.

He added that an internal investigation into that complaint is ongoing.

Pyle is requesting a jury trial, punitive damages and attorney fees. An ACLU spokesperson said both Pyle and the organization declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Call IndyStar reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.

Lawsuit: State trooper preached about Jesus during traffic stop

READ MORE: A copy of the pamphlet previously claimed to be disseminated by an Indiana State Trooper