A one-of-a-kind video from a traffic stop in Florida went viral on the internet when a police officer stopped a woman, accusing her of distracted driving. However, in an unexpected response, the woman driver told him that she didn’t have a hand. Still, the officer couldn’t believe her and went on to issue a citation against her for allegedly violating Florida’s wireless communications while driving.

The viral clip from February shows a 36-year-old Kathleen Thomas reportedly stopped by a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of distracted driving. The body cam footage shows the police officer approaching the woman on the side of the North Dixie Highway. Thomas lowered the window, and the police officer alleged that she passed by him while holding the phone in her right hand and “manipulating that phone.”

Thomas initially appeared to take the situation lightly and raised her arm and pulled out the nub, stating, “So, I’m obviously not,” with hysterical laughter, further adding, “So you wanna just call this a day?”

However, the unconvinced officer insisted that she was holding the phone with her right hand and he didn’t want to “call it a day,” and claimed that she had a “hand up.” Quite amused by the Florida police officers’ accusation, Thomas said that he couldn’t have seen her right hand as she didn’t have one.

Seemed like the officer was in no mood to believe her, as he then asked the woman to put a “hand to God” that she hadn’t been using her phone while driving. A confident Thomas then held up her right arm, declaring, “Hand to God,” yet the officer insisted, “the other hand to God,” and asked for her license and registration.

According to the New York Post, the citation listed Thomas’ offense as a first-time violation for using a handheld wireless communication device while driving. It carried a $116 civil fine. She challenged the citation in court, but before the hearing on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, the officer involved reportedly sought to have the case dismissed, due to “lack of evidence.”

On the other hand, while speaking with CBS News, Thomas shared the entire account of the incident, recalling that she thought it was just a misunderstanding, but she said that when the officer didn’t laugh or interact in a “friendly manner,” she realized that it was something serious. 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?” 

Thomas, who was born without the lower part of her right arm, said she instinctively raised her hand toward God in her usual way, but the officer did not appear to accept it. She said he then asked her to use her left hand instead. Reflecting on the bodycam footage later, Thomas said watching the interaction over the weekend was difficult for her. “I realized immediately that I felt very uncomfortable,” she said.  

Meanwhile, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told the publication that the deputy “initiated a traffic stop based upon his visual observation at the time of the incident.”