A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office officer mistakenly accused Kathleen Thomas, 36, of driving with a wireless communication device in her “right hand” during a traffic stop—only to be quickly proven wrong by the one-armed woman herself.

Body camera footage shows the deputy stating Thomas had a phone in her “right hand” while she was pulled over for alleged distracted driving on February 11 near Lake Worth Beach. When Thomas raised her right arm to demonstrate she lacked that limb, the officer persisted: “You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand.”

Thomas countered: “So obviously not!” and repeatedly clarified, “You’re saying that you saw me with my right hand?” The officer insisted he had seen her hand, but Thomas refused to accept the claim. After issuing a $116 citation for Florida’s wireless communications law violation—a first offense—the case became public when Thomas posted the incident on TikTok.

The citation was later dismissed at the request of the deputy himself just days after the viral video sparked widespread criticism online. Social media outlets highlighted how the officer refused to acknowledge his error once Thomas proved her point, instead clinging to his initial claim despite her clear demonstration that he had misidentified her limb. Court records confirm the hearing was canceled when the deputy requested dismissal due to “lack of evidence.”

Thomas’ swift rebuttal exposed a critical flaw in how law enforcement interprets and enforces distracted driving laws—a mistake now under scrutiny for its clarity, impact, and failure to account for individual circumstances.