Good Samaritan’s Driving Ticket Dismissed : Court: The woman was cited for impeding traffic while handing money to a homeless man at a freeway off-ramp.

Michele Peterson’s generosity toward a homeless man at a freeway off-ramp landed her in court Wednesday, facing off with the California Highway Patrol officer who ticketed her for impeding traffic when she handed the man $4.

“He told me, ‘If you want to help those people, why don’t you park your car across the street and walk over?’ ” the Santa Barbara college instructor testified at a hearing in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

In what should be a surprise for those who told her that she couldn’t beat the system, Peterson came out on top as Commissioner Eugene Moutes ruled that there was “reasonable doubt” about her guilt and dismissed the case.

“People discouraged me,” she said after her victory. “They said I was never going to beat it.”

The original confrontation between Peterson, 45, and Officer Rex Bartholome occurred Jan. 22 as she exited the eastbound Ventura Freeway at Reseda Boulevard in Tarzana.

Peterson, who was on her way to visit her son, a Cal State Northridge student, spotted a homeless man at the end of the ramp, holding a “Hungry, Need Food” sign. As she drove off the ramp, she stuck her hand out the window and gave him $4. Bartholome, who was riding his motorcycle in the adjacent lane, pulled her over and cited her for impeding traffic.

On Wednesday, Peterson, an English teacher at Santa Barbara City College, drove 90 miles back to the Valley to contest the $114 citation and plead her case before Moutes. “What is so disturbing to me is being ticketed for almsgiving,” she said.

The hearing turned out to be less about the merits of helping the homeless than the narrower issue of whether Peterson had come to a halt when she made her donation.

Bartholome testified that Peterson actually stopped at the crosswalk, reached out the window and then waited for the homeless man to walk over to her Nissan Pulsar before giving him the money. By the time she moved off, the traffic signal was turning, he testified. He cited her for impeding the flow of traffic through the intersection.

Peterson, on the other hand, said she never stopped. She testified that she handed over the $4 as she was accelerating slowly off the ramp. “I did not brake,” she insisted.

After Moutes gave her the benefit of the doubt, Peterson said she had to go to court not only because of the size of the fine and the possible damage to her insurance but also because of Bartholome’s attitude.

“My (22-year-old) son said he’d never seen me so angry in his whole life,” she said, adding, “I felt (the officer) was being very mean-spirited.”

Bartholome was not asked about the alleged “those people” statement in court and refused to comment outside the courtroom.

Peterson said she had not been deterred from further almsgiving. But if she does it again on a freeway ramp, she said, “I’d keep an eye out for a CHP officer.”