Jill Disis

jill.disis@indystar.com

An Indiana woman who sued a former state police trooper she claimed proselytized to her during a traffic stop has dropped her lawsuit.

The complaint, filed in federal court last April by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of Wendy Pyle, accused former trooper Brian Hamilton of asking the woman whether "she had been saved" after pulling her over in Fayette County in January.

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 whether she accepted Jesus Christ as her savior.

Lawsuit: State trooper preached about Jesus during traffic stop

That lawsuit was eventually settled, and Hamilton was counseled not to question others regarding their religious beliefs, according to court records.

Hamilton was fired shortly after Pyle's complaint 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.

It's unclear whether that incident was the same one that prompted Pyle's lawsuit. State Police officials said they do not release information about complainants.

Bursten said at the time that the investigation was separate from the lawsuit and "would have occurred regardless of any legal action initiated" by the ACLU.

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

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