Officer Pena of South Texas ISD Police issues warnings after LIDAR speed readings near bus barn

Officer Pena, with the South Texas ISD Police Department, told drivers during a roadside enforcement operation that the posted speed limit from the expressway to the end of the bus barn is 30 miles per hour and that officers would be looking for vehicles significantly exceeding that limit. He explained he was ‘on the road conducting traffic stops’ and using a handheld LIDAR device to measure speed.

During the recording, Officer Pena said the LIDAR readings let him “pinpoint exactly which vehicle” is speeding; he identified one vehicle’s speed as 42 mph and another as 48 mph in the 30-mph zone. To the first driver he said, “Officer Pena with the South Texas ISD Police Department,” then issued a written warning and asked the driver to sign an acknowledgment of receipt. The driver apologized and said she was headed to work.

At the second stop, the driver disputed the measured speed, saying, “I was looking at my thing. It was 40.” The driver also said he was headed to work and discussed license and insurance paperwork; Officer Pena checked for warrants and vehicle details before returning to his patrol vehicle. Officer Pena turned on his body camera and notified dispatch of his location and the vehicle description during the second contact.

Officer Pena framed the contacts as part of an awareness effort by a newly created South Texas ISD Police Department, telling drivers the department is deploying enforcement in that area so regular road users will “see us more and more” and slow down. He emphasized the goal was cautioning drivers and increasing safety near the school district’s facilities.

The recording shows the officer routinely notified dispatch of his call sign (Sabre11), the locations of stops, and that he was authorized to conduct traffic stops in the county. The contacts resulted in written warnings rather than citations in the portions of the recording provided. No formal arrest or citation paperwork is recorded in the transcript.