A Florida sheriff’s deputy drew public attention after citing a woman during a distracted-driving stop for allegedly holding a cell phone in her right hand, even though she is an amputee and does not have a right hand. The incident involved Kathleen Thomas, a South Florida resident who was pulled over in February by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy during a distracted-driving enforcement operation on North Dixie Highway. Body camera footage reportedly shows the deputy telling Thomas that he saw her holding and manipulating the phone with her right hand while driving.
Thomas responded by raising her right arm and showing the deputy that she had no right hand. Despite this, the deputy continued to insist that he had seen the violation and did not immediately acknowledge the mistake. According to the account, Thomas laughed at the exchange and asked whether they could end the stop, but the deputy pressed on and asked her to swear that she was not using the phone. After Thomas again displayed her amputated arm, the deputy reportedly adjusted his wording and continued with the citation process.
The deputy issued a ticket under Florida Statute 316.305(3)(a) for “Wireless Comm. Device/Handheld While Driving – First Offense,” which carried a $116 penalty. Thomas challenged the citation, and after the story spread widely online, the deputy later asked for the ticket to be dismissed because of “lack of evidence” before the court hearing. The dismissal effectively ended the case without further penalty.
The episode has been widely criticized as a clear example of poor judgment and refusal to correct an obvious error in the moment. It also raised questions about the enforcement of distracted-driving laws and the importance of verifying facts before issuing citations. For Thomas, the stop became an example of how a routine traffic enforcement encounter escalated into a public embarrassment for the deputy and the sheriff’s office involved.
