Bodycam footage of the traffic stop featured a police officer accusing the woman of holding her phone
Credit: CBS News/Youtube
NEED TO KNOW
- A woman without a right hand was accused by an officer of holding a phone in her right hand while driving
- Footage of the traffic stop from February went viral
- She was issued a citation, which was later dismissed
A driver was pulled over by a police officer and accused of holding a phone in her right hand, despite the fact that she does not have a right hand.
The traffic stop occurred on the North Dixie Highway in Lake Worth Beach, Fla., on Feb. 11, 12 News reported.
The case first gained attention after the woman posted footage of it on TikTok. Official bodycam footage was subsequently released and reported by CBS News.
The woman, identified as Kathleen Thomas by CBS, was stopped by a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy.
"You drove past me holding the phone with your right hand," the deputy says.
Thomas responds by holding up her right arm, which does not have a hand.
"So obviously not," she said while laughing. "So you just want to call this a day or?"
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But the officer doubled down by saying he saw her holding her phone and eventually issued Thomas a citation.
Thomas was set to contest the citation in court when the sheriff's office asked the court to dismiss the charge, CBS reported.
"I was able to leave the encounter and, you know, handle it within the court system," Thomas told CBS, though she also believed police are not "exposed enough to what do if somebody does have a missing limb."
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