The incident dates back to February 11 in Lake Worth, Florida, when 36-year-old Kathleen Thomas was pulled over by a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy accused her of distracted driving, claiming he had seen her holding and using a phone with her right hand behind the wheel.
The situation quickly took an unexpected turn during the stop. Thomas showed the deputy that her right arm had been amputated, a fact that directly contradicted the allegation made against her. The exchange was captured on bodycam footage that has only recently become public.
Deputy Maintains Allegation After Seeing the Disability
According to Autoblog, the deputy told Thomas he had observed her using a phone with her right hand while driving. Once the traffic stop began, Thomas calmly explained that she did not have a right hand and showed the deputy her amputated right arm.
The bodycam footage reportedly shows her repeating that explanation several times during the interaction. Despite being confronted with the obvious discrepancy, the deputy continued to insist that he had seen her using a device while operating the vehicle.
The stop centered entirely on the distracted-driving allegation, which remained the basis for the citation issued that day.
Citation Issued After Review of Documents
Throughout the encounter, Thomas remained cooperative. She provided her driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance when requested.
The deputy then returned to his patrol vehicle, a Ford Mustang GT, to review the paperwork before approaching Thomas again. After checking the documents, he issued a citation for “wireless communication device handheld while driving.”
Before ending the stop, the deputy also explained the process for contesting the ticket in court. He provided that information without Thomas asking for it.
Charge Dropped Days Before Court Appearance
The citation was initially set to be challenged in court. Thomas had been scheduled to appear on May 28 to contest the allegation.
The deputy who issued the ticket requested that the citation be dismissed on May 25, three days before the scheduled hearing date. The charge was subsequently dropped and the case officially closed.
Although the matter did not proceed to court, the release of the bodycam footage has given the incident a new wave of visibility. The video has circulated widely online, where many viewers have expressed surprise that the citation was issued despite the circumstances shown during the traffic stop.
