A police officer in Florida stopped a woman he suspected of being distracted while driving because he thought she was using her phone. To his surprise, it turned out she was driving with only one hand.
Kathleen Thomas, 36, was pulled over by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office officer in February over concerns of distracted driving.
Body camera footage shows the officer approaching Thomas’ vehicle on North Dixie Highway, believing he saw her “holding a phone in his right hand” while operating it, according to police reports.
When asked about it, Thomas simply extended her right arm, revealing a stump where her hand would typically be.
“So I’m obviously not,” she chuckled. “Do you want to wrap this up?”
Yet, the officer seemed hesitant to agree. “I don’t want to say, ‘It’s over.’ I raised my hand,” he replied.
Thomas, somewhat surprised, pointed out that the officer couldn’t see her hand—because she didn’t have one.
The officer then asked her to “hold on to God” for not using her phone while driving.
“Hands to God,” she responded, raising her right arm once more.
“Your other hand is for God,” he awkwardly replied.
After checking her credentials, the officer ended up issuing her a citation for violating Florida traffic laws. This marked Thomas’ first incident, resulting in a $116 fine.
She decided to contest the citation in court. However, a hearing set for Wednesday was called off when the officer requested the case be dismissed due to “lack of evidence,” which Thomas humorously noted in a TikTok video.
“Brother, we already knew that,” she joked.
