The incident happened on 4 May last year when the PSP police officer from Lisbon, who was travelling to Almada, stopped on the bridge to move a plastic bag that was threatening to cause an accident.
Suspecting it might be a bomb, another driver called emergency services and the bridge was closed for two hours at peak rush hour while a bomb squad investigated.
The bag turned out to be full of clothes.
An inquiry by the PSP concluded that the officer should have immediately raised the alarm, not moved the bag himself, and was found guilty of ‘a lack of care’.
Altogether the police officer faces a financial loss of over €300 – a €250 traffic fine for stopping on the bridge, plus two days docked wages.