A traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral for a painfully obvious reason: a deputy accused a woman of driving with her phone in her right hand—even though she literally does not have a right hand.
Kathleen Thomas, 36, was pulled over in February by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy over an alleged distracted driving violation captured on both Thomas’ phone and police body cam footage.
In the now-viral video, the officer identified himself before explaining the reason for the stop:
“This is why you’re being pulled over: the city of Lake Worth today, we’re doing an operation for distracted driver, and you drove past me holding the phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone.”
Florida’s texting-while-driving statute prohibits drivers from manually typing or entering letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless device, along with sending or reading data for non-voice communication while operating a vehicle. The law also includes exceptions for navigation, emergency reporting, safety alerts, and certain voice communication.
Unfortunately for the deputy, the stop quickly turned into a real-life “you sure about that?” moment.
Thomas then held up her right arm, which ends above the elbow, and said:
“So, obviously not, so, you want to just call this a day?”
Rather than taking the extremely available exit ramp, the deputy continued pressing the issue.
He doubled down, saying:
“I don’t want to call it a day. You had a hand up, manipulating the phone.”
Apparently, somebody was determined to meet their quota that day.
A visibly stunned Thomas repeatedly reminded the deputy that he specifically claimed he saw her using her right hand. The exchange only grew more awkward as the officer attempted to walk back the statement, then repeatedly asked whether she had been holding her phone at all, which Thomas denied.
The interaction somehow became even more surreal when the deputy asked Thomas to swear “hand to god” that she was not using her phone. When she raised her right arm, he reportedly asked her to lift “the other hand.”
You can view the body cam footage released by CBS News here:
- YouTubeCBS News
The deputy ultimately reviewed Thomas’ license and registration before issuing her a citation for allegedly violating Florida’s law on wireless communications while driving.
Thomas reacted to the citation on Instagram:
“Turns out you can still get a ticket for driving with a device in your right hand even if you don’t have a right hand…”
The content creator, known online as @slightlyoff.balance, is an adaptive athlete and influencer whose videos often focus on “Doing One Arm S–t.”
You can watch her video on the incident here:
The citation, issued February 11 at approximately 8:04 a.m. along North Dixie Highway, listed the charge as “Wireless Communication. Device/Handheld While Driving – First Offense” under Florida Statute 316.305(3)(a), carrying a civil penalty of $116.
Thomas’ traffic stop has since racked up millions of views online, where people immediately filled the internet with “single-handedly” jokes.
Commenters had plenty to say:
And to absolutely no one’s surprise, Thomas challenged the citation in court and updated her audience Wednesday after the case was dismissed for, wait for it, “lack of evidence.”
You can view Thomas’ follow-up video here:
Funny how the citation suddenly vanished once actual evidence entered the chat.
Following the viral fallout from the stop, Thomas is now set to appear on CBS Mornings tomorrow at 7:00 AM. Meanwhile, the body cam footage continues making the rounds online as viewers roast the deputy for accusing an amputee woman of using a hand she does not have.
@JamesTate121/X
