A Florida woman who went viral after local authorities ticketed her on accusations of holding a phone in her right hand, which she does not have, had her case dismissed.TikTok user Katie Thomas, an adaptive athlete who goes by slightlyoff.balance online, was pulled over by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy in February, according to a video she posted online leading up to the scheduled court date. In bodycam footage published by CBS News, the deputy can be seen approaching Thomas’ car on the driver’s side. He tells her that the city of Lake Worth Beach is doing a distracted driving operation and accuses her of having held her phone in her right hand.Thomas then raises her right arm to show the deputy she has no right hand to hold a phone. The deputy refuses to back down, stating, “I mean, I saw you.”“I mean, obviously not,” Thomas said, laughing.The deputy refused to let the accusation go, and the two argued back and forth.“Hand to God, you did not have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asked.Thomas raised her right arm once again to show the deputy that she does not have a right hand, which prompted him to ask her to raise her left hand. According to court records reviewed by local CBS affiliate WPEC, Thomas’ case was dismissed at the request of the deputy who issued it and her court date scheduled for Tuesday was canceled.“I cannot make up the reason behind why it was dismissed,” Thomas said in a follow-up video. “It says a lack of evidence. Bruh, we knew that already.”Thomas’ videos have garnered thousands of supportive comments. “The refusing to be wrong is the scary part,” one TikTok read. “Hand to God... God already has the hand,” read another one.A spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told HuffPost in an email, “Deputies are authorized under Florida law to issue citations when they observe what they reasonably believe to be a violation involving the use of a handheld wireless device while operating a motor vehicle.”“In this particular case, the deputy initiated a traffic stop based upon his visual observation at the time of the incident,” the spokesperson said.
Driver Accused Of Using Phone In Right Hand, Which She Does Not Have, Shares Update On Case
"I mean, obviously not," the woman laughed as the deputy made an apparently absurd allegation.









