Judge dismisses traffic stop gun rights lawsuit against Jefferson Hills cop

A Jefferson Hills police officer didn't violate a Washington County woman's civil rights by temporarily confiscating her loaded gun during a traffic stop, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Heather Dawn Flanegan of New Eagle says in the lawsuit that Officer John M. O'Learly violated her constitutional rights in December 2013 when he pulled her over for speeding on state Route 837.

O'Leary took possession of a loaded gun she had holstered on her car door while he checked her registration and issued her a speeding ticket, the lawsuit says. He returned it at the end of the traffic stop, the lawsuit says.

While the case law on the Second Amendment is in flux, U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon said in her order dismissing the case that she is confident that future rulings will not “bestow upon the citizenry a constitutional right to remain ‘armed and loaded' while police officers perform essential investigatory functions in their presence.”