He didn't throw himself into traffic. He stepped in front of a car that was slowly attempting to leave. While writing the ticket, he had the vehicle detained. A vehicle can be temporarily detained separate from the individual. When the driver got into the vehicle, both the driver and the vehicle were then temporarily detained. If I had been the issuing law enforcement officer, I would not have allowed the driver to get into the vehicle. He did. At that point, the driver should have sat there and received his ticket. If he wanted to contest the ticket since he was supposedly parked in a valet line, he should have not paid the fine and gone to court to get the ticket dismissed.
Challenging the authority of a law enforcement officer is not smart. Using your car to intimidate the officer by accelerating and braking a few times is not smart. Doesn't matter if he saw his foot or not. The officer positioned himself such that the driver knew the law enforcement officer's intent to detain. There is no valid argument to the contrary.