Honking his tractor-trailer horn at a Brownsville police officer who had conducted a traffic stop at the 7300 block of Boca Chica Boulevard landed a 40-year-old man in jail.
Oziel Pena-Perez was charged with one count of unnecessary use of an emergency horn and one count of driving without a driver’s license.
The incident unfolded at about 9 a.m. Tuesday at the 3700 block of Boca Chica Boulevard, where the officer was conducting a traffic stop, said Investigator Martin Sandoval, spokesman for the Brownsville Police Department.
As the officer was stopped, a blue tractor-trailer rig driven by Pena-Perez blew its horn as it passed by the traffic stop, Sandoval said. The officer got back into his patrol car and followed Perez to see if he needed assistance.
“Pena-Perez told the officer that he honked his horn to protest the traffic stop since he believed the officer was taking up the roadway,” Sandoval said.
The officer told Pena-Perez that it was unlawful to use the horn in such matters and requested that Pena-Perez show him his driver’s license, Sandoval said.
Pena-Perez told him he didn’t have to show him his driver’s license. It was at that time the officer told him he was under arrest, and although Pena-Perez started to pull away, the officer was able to handcuff him, Sandoval said.
A check on Pena-Perez indicated he didn’t have a driver’s license, and he was transported to the Brownsville City Jail.
He was issued a traffic citation, and his bond was set at $380.
