WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A Collin County man is facing an extremely rare traffic ticket after an encounter caught on video.

Marshall Petre said that when he turned onto Highway 75 near McKinney, he saw no signs of traffic, trouble, emergencies – or a motorcycle coming behind him.

“I look at my mirror, I go to move and … he walks past me,” Petre said. It was a Collin County deputy who Petre said had been speeding before moving into the flow of traffic.

“He had no lights, no sirens, nothing – he was just driving down the road.”

Petre said it was a safety issue for the MP and all other road users. “If he had lost control of that motorcycle…if I had just clipped the front end of his vehicle and he would have had an accident and he could have died,” Petre said. “I should have lived with that guilt. I don’t want to wear this.

So when Petre saw the deputy take the next exit, he did too. “It’s not that I want to follow this guy,” Petre said. “It was more like, why? Why does he drive the way he does? »

He pulled up behind the deputy at a four-way stop, honked the horn and began recording.

After the deputy left, Petre stopped and remained at the intersection, striking up a conversation with a construction worker who had witnessed the exchange. They were still talking a few minutes later when the deputy returned and Petre turned his camera on again.

The deputy ended up accusing Petre of illegally using a horn. According to state code, a driver “shall use a horn to sound an audible warning only when necessary to ensure safe operation.”

The I-Team pulled records and found the quote is extremely rare in Texas. The most recent traffic stop data from the Texas Department of Public Safety showed approximately 3.9 million traffic violations issued in 2022. We requested data on this specific citation and found that the law enforcement agencies issued only eight tickets for illegal use of a horn during 2022.

The ticket comes with a fine of $189, but that’s not the worst part for Petre. Dallas County had just issued an arrest warrant for an unpaid speeding ticket he received over the summer.

The deputy arrested Petre and towed his truck. He spent 16 hours in custody and paid $600 to get his van out of impound.

A costly meeting, but Petre still feels he has the right to question the MP. “He just wanted to come back and make a point, prove himself,” Petre said. “And he proved it. He did what he wanted to do.

When we asked the Collin County Sheriff’s Office about the encounter, a spokesperson said only that it was “under review.” The I-Team has made a public information request regarding the citation information and body camera footage. CCSO maintains it should not be released and is appealing to the Texas Attorney General’s Office for a ruling.

Petre pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial. His next court hearing is scheduled for October 29.

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