A Florida traffic citation was dismissed after a deputy accused a woman of texting while driving with a hand she does not have [3].
The incident highlights a significant failure in officer observation and the potential for legal errors when law enforcement relies on assumptions over physical evidence.
Katie Thomas, a resident of Lake Worth Beach, was pulled over in February 2026 [2]. A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy stopped Thomas after believing he saw her using a mobile device while operating her vehicle. The deputy said, "I saw her holding a device in her right hand while she was driving" [3].
Thomas is a one-armed woman who has no right hand [1]. Despite this physical reality, the deputy issued a citation for texting while driving. The encounter later became a viral topic after bodycam footage and reports of the stop surfaced online [1].
Thomas provided differing accounts of her emotional state during the stop. She said to CBS News, "I felt very uncomfortable" [1]. She said to ClickOrlando, "I was just laughing when the deputy pulled me over" [2].
Following the incident, the traffic citation was dismissed [3]. The dismissal occurred at the request of the officer involved, a few months after the initial stop in February 2026 [2, 3].
Lake Worth Beach officials and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office have not issued further statements regarding the deputy's conduct beyond the request to dismiss the charge [3].
“"I saw her holding a device in her right hand while she was driving."”
This case underscores the risks of 'confirmation bias' in police work, where an officer perceives an action that fits a suspected crime despite contradictory physical evidence. The subsequent dismissal of the charge suggests that the agency recognized the citation was baseless, but the viral nature of the event brings attention to the lack of initial verification during the traffic stop.
