St. Louis Man Detained, Ticketed For Honking Horn At Cop Car

ST. LOUIS, MO — Computer programmer Scott Smith was ticketed Friday after repeatedly honking at an unmarked police car that was stopped at a green light. He recorded the angry confrontation with the plainclothes officer on cellphone video.

"Is your f***ing horn stuck, smarta**?" the officer asks Smith in the video.

"Is your brake stuck?" Smith replies.

"Let me see your drivers' license."

"For what?" Smith asks. "For honking at someone who's sitting at a green light. This is f***ing ridiculous."

"Well, you know what, maybe you shouldn't be a f***ing asshole," the officer says.

"You're sitting at a green light. I have to go back to work."

"Really," the officer answers. "I hope you're not in a hurry. You're going to be late for a little while."

Smith said the officer detained him for 45 minutes before telling him he would be sent a ticket in the mail. "I get that he was mad that I honked," Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "But don't sling insults at me, keep me on the road for 45 minutes and take your personal aggression out on me." He plans to file a formal complaint with the police department.

Citizens in St. Louis voted yesterday to give police a raise, paid for by a half-cent hike of the local sales tax.

Watch the video here (language warning).

Image via Shutterstock