Awkward moment Florida woman with no hand is accused of using phone while driving in embarrassing cop blunder
A woman with no right hand has shared the excruciating moment she was stopped by police who claimed she was using her phone while driving.
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Kathleen Thomas, 36, was pulled over in the town of Lake Worth, Florida, back in February by a deputy from the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.
The deputy claimed he had seen her phone in her right hand. However, bodycam footage of the incident shows Ms Thomas laughing while lifting up her arm - which stops at the elbow - to show the cop she has no hand.
"So, you want to just call this a day?" she adds.
The officer is polite, but continues to insist that he saw Ms Thomas manipulating her phone with her right hand.
He then asks her to swear, "hand to God," that she hadn't been using her device. Ms Thomas then raises her right arm.
The officer responds by telling her to raise her left, and only, hand.
Ms Thomas shared the footage on social media which quickly went viral garnering both praise for how she handled it and fury at the police officer's behaviour.
Yesterday, Ms Thomas shared on social media that her ticket was dismissed due to lack of evidence before she ever went to court, though she still went down to the courthouse to obtain proof.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office told CBS News in a statement that the deputy "initiated a traffic stop based upon his visual observation at the time of the incident."
The department said the ticket was dismissed after a review of state statutes and "based upon the totality of the circumstances, specifically the lack of clarity on how violations are labeled in our citation software."
"PBSO remains committed to professionalism, fairness, and the lawful enforcement of Florida statutes," the department said.
Florida’s Wireless Communications While Driving Law first took effect in 2013 and was strengthened in 2019, making texting while driving a primary offense. That means drivers can be pulled over solely for violating the statute.
Under current Florida law, drivers are prohibited from manually typing or entering letters, numbers, or symbols into a wireless communications device for non-voice communication while operating a vehicle. That includes activities such as texting, emailing, or instant messaging.