The Officer said I crossed a "Police Line"!

I'm in Portland, Oregon, and received a ticket for "crossing a police line". It was 8:30PM, after dark, and I was traveling on a 2 lane city street (with parallel parking on each side). A police cruiser blocked my side of the street, and he had flares out, parallel with his vehicle, also blocking just my side of the street. The officer was standing between his vehicle and the flares, talking another officer, maybe 10 feet away, and not paying any attention to me. The street closure was caused by several firetrucks, only one of which was on the street I was traveling; the rest were on a side street off of the one I was on. There were no 'detour' signs, nor did the officer provide any traffic direction as I approached, at maybe 5 MPH. Not seeing any special direction, I proceeded slowly up the non-blocked lane, assuming that the street was simply one-way at a time, as is done on highways when construction is occuring. The officer continued to ignore me until I was about 20 feet past his cruiser, when he yelled at me to stop. I immediately stopped, and explained that I saw no traffic signs, or any direction from him. He said he was going to cite me for crossing a police line, which he did.

My question is, doesn't the officer have a responsibility to make it clear what route he wants traffic to take, after he closes a lane? I noticed that his partner was using his flashlight to direct traffic, after the first officer stopped me. Should I challenge this, or just eat it? It's $39 to plead guilty, and up to $129 to go to court, if the judge doesn't like my presentation.

Is crossing a police line a moving violation that will show on my driving record and affect my insurance?

What say you?

to the same lane you were driving in?Or to a side street?If all the facts are as you stated and the officer dosent give conflicting testimony then I would fight it on principle.I think it is a moving violiation.Why didnt you ask the officer some questions when he gave you the ticket?I recently got a ticket for failure to yeild for an emergancy vehicle (his squad car) and won when he didnt show up for trial.The DA already got one continuance.Sometimes cops give tickets because they are mad . So if you honestly feel you are not guilty go to court even if just to tell your story and complain.Its your right.I dont fight speeding tickets though as they are almost impossible to win.This was the first ticket in many years and I take alot of pride in my driving record.

Thanks for your note. Neither the officer that ticketed me, NOR his buddy were directing traffic in any way. I felt that I was being left to guess what they wanted me to do. I did tell the officer that wrote me up that I didn't see any sandwhich boards with a 'detour' arrow, nor any traffic direction from either of the officers. He said he did not have to provide traffic direction. I was calm, but I did tell him that I thought that he was over re-acting. I think that a warning would have been appropriate, but not a ticket.

You didnt drive over the flares did you?If you did then thats the police line.And yes you would be given a ticket.If not then I dont understand the officer.