You live and you learn. And 59-year-old McKinley Lewis learned Wednesday that you don't honk your vehicle's horn unless it's an emergency situation.

Police issued him a citation for honking while in the parking lot of A. B. Palmer Park about 4:30 p.m.

"I blowed my horn two times and beckoned for my brother to come to the car," the Shreveport resident said. "I wasn't disturbing the peace, just trying to get his attention."

The officer advised Lewis of the violation, demanded his license and then walked to the back of the patrol car.

"You must be kidding," Lewis said, but the officer wrote the citation without further explanation.

"I told him I was unaware of the law, so I thought he was going to show it to me. But he didn't care about that," he said. The Cedar Grove resident has an artificial hip and a handicap identification card. He said it's common for him to pull up in a yard, at a park or even at the store and honk his horn. "I told him that I'm crippled and can't get around good. He didn't care though. He wrote the ticket any way. The least he could have done was given me a warning."

A city ordinance and state law prohibits the use of vehicle horns in nonemergency situations other than parades, tours and other special events. Shreveport police have issued only three honking horn citations this year. According to the city clerk's office, it's an estimated $108 fine.

Detective Kevin Goodwin said police have enough crime to deal with besides people blowing their horns, but it is a law.

"A lot of people don't know about some of these laws, but they are on the books. The laws are tools that we use and have to enforce," Goodwin said. "We are not there to harass anyone but to protect the citizens of Shreveport."

On Thursday, Lewis contacted police administrators and local and state representatives regarding the matter. Because of the officer's attitude, Lewis sais he would have reported the incident even without being issued the citation. "His tone, his attitude was just awfully rude. I'm a law-abiding citizen and a church-going man, and I didn't deserve that."

Goodwin said the incident is under investigation.

When asked if he intends to honk the horn again, Lewis said, "No if it's against the law."

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...EWS01/507290341
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glad to see the cops are really taking the bad guys off the street.

poor guy..... That cop must have been looking for a reason to pick on someone. I'm usually very understanding of when a cop makes a mistake because I know their job can be stressful, but there is no excuse here other then plain mean spirit.

I think cops would get ticket when they turn on their light bars just to get through a traffic light without stoping. cops in my home town do that all the time. They approach the light with light bar off, turn it on, blow through signal, turn light bar off...

Well their proves without a doubt that the police are dealing with the real bad guys out there and are keeping our streets safe from people like this who honk there horn!!!!!!

. . .

Well if that law existed where I live, there would be a lot of 'law-breakers'.

I think the law does exist here, but what are you going to do when a moron pulls out in front of you and you have to break hard to miss hitting him.
You automatically honk to let them know what an idiot they were.

That is an emergency though....just honking your horn to get someone to hurry up is not. I think he got a ticket because of his attitude.

This is weird! Doesn't eveyone do that? I mean honk their horns? This is one strange story let me tell you.

Ever notice when a cop says 'it's the law' he/she means really it is their law. If a state were to ever put that kind of law to a vote it would die a quick death like it deserves.

In fact if we as citizens were not so passive, we could insist that every stupid law be put to a vote before being passed. This is after all, still our country. You know, we the people.