BLOOMINGTON, MN — A 19-year-old Bloomington man has been cited after police say he drove past a stopped school bus with its stop arm out and flipped off the bus driver as he went by.
Siraji Ahmed Said was cited for a petty misdemeanor school bus violation, according to court records filed Sept. 17 in Hennepin County District Court.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges called out the driver in a video the department shared on Facebook.
"Look at this, got a bus full of school kids," Hodges says in the video. "He decides to give them the one finger salute."
According to the citation, the incident happened around 4:48 p.m. on Sept. 2 at Rhode Island Avenue and Rhode Island Circle in Bloomington. The officer who wrote the citation said the driver of a gray 2004 Honda Accord went past Bus 252 while its stop arm was extended and its red lights were flashing, and that the driver "flicked off" the bus driver while passing.
Police identified the driver using his driver's license photo, and the citation was mailed to him rather than issued during a traffic stop, records show. The officer noted the incident was captured on video.
"Come on, man. Don't be driving by blowing school bus lights and flicking people off," Hodges says. "We don't tolerate that in Bloomington."
While Hodges referred to the offense as a misdemeanor in the video, court records list it as a petty misdemeanor, which is not considered a crime under Minnesota law. The charge falls under the section of state law covering the owner or lessee of a vehicle that illegally passes a stopped school bus. The Bloomington City Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.
Hodges also reminded drivers that new stop arm laws took effect this year.
"If you see the red lights flashing, you gotta stop."
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