A 40-year-old man, driver of a TDVE vehicle, was arrested on Monday afternoon on suspicion of committing crimes of threats and insults to a law enforcement officer near Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon.
In a statement sent to newsrooms on Wednesday, the Public Security Police (PSP) explained that “during the management of an incident involving a bus consumed by flames in the arrivals area of Humberto Delgado Airport, access routes to that area were closed, including near the roundabout at Avenida de Berlim/BP Roundabout.”
However, the driver “went to the location and immobilized the vehicle, severely obstructing traffic circulation.”
In response to the situation, officers from the Airport Security and Border Control Division ordered him to “leave the area,” but the “driver refused to comply with the order, shouting offensive expressions from inside the vehicle.”
“Faced with the escalation of the situation, he was informed that if he persisted in his conduct, he would commit the crime of disobedience,” the PSP explained.
Although he eventually complied with the PSP order and began to leave the scene, the man still “uttered several threatening and insulting expressions towards the officers from the vehicle window.”
The man was intercepted “shortly after” by the officers, as the “existing traffic” prevented him from “fully escaping.”
“During the approach, he was asked for an identification document, and in light of the severity of the words uttered, he was arrested,” the PSP explained.
However, “even after being handcuffed and still in public, the detainee continued to adopt a provocative and threatening posture, uttering threatening phrases.”
According to the PSP, the detainee was made an official suspect and provided a statement of identity and residence before being notified to appear in Lisbon’s Criminal Small Claims Court.
It is noteworthy that in Portugal, penalties for threats and insults vary according to severity and can range from fines to imprisonment.
