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May 28, 2026 / 5:16 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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The woman whose interaction with Florida police went viral after she was written a ticket alleging she was driving while holding her phone in her nonexistent right hand has opened up about her experience to CBS News, saying she hopes the uncomfortable situation will result in more awareness for those with limb differences. Kathleen Thomas, 36, was driving in Lake Worth, Florida, in February when she was pulled over by a deputy from the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office. The deputy said he had seen her phone in her right hand. After confirming what he said, Thomas revealed her right arm stops at the elbow. Thomas said she thought it was just a misunderstanding. But despite the impossibility of Thomas using her phone with her right hand while driving, the deputy ultimately wrote the ticket. "Initially, [I thought], 'Oh, this is going to be funny, which is why I laughed,'" Thomas exclusively told CBS News. "I cackled, more like it. But then it became very apparent when he did not laugh or interact in like, a friendly manner, that it was not going to go that way."She added, "I wouldn't say it put me on edge, but it definitely left an unsettling feeling of, 'OK, what is this? Where are we going with this?'" The viral bodycam video shows the deputy continuing to ask Thomas if she was using her phone with her right hand. Then the officer asks her to swear, "hand to God," that she hadn't been using her device. Thomas raises her right arm. The officer responds by telling her to raise her left, and only, hand.
