{"id":242851,"date":"2026-05-28T14:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/case-dismissed-against-one-handed-woman-after-traffic-stop\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T14:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:07:10","slug":"case-dismissed-against-one-handed-woman-after-traffic-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/case-dismissed-against-one-handed-woman-after-traffic-stop\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Dismissed Against One-Handed Woman After Traffic Stop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>A video has gone viral after an influencer and athlete shared bodycam footage of her traffic stop.<\/p>\n<p>The bad news \u2014 or, at least, the <em>weird<\/em> news is that she\u2019s accused of something that\u2019s physically impossible.<\/p>\n<p>In the video, the officer accuses her of scrolling through her phone with her right hand while driving. But she doesn\u2019t <em>have<\/em> a right hand.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s an amputee. Instead of apologizing, the officer still issued the ticket, nearly forcing her to come to court months later.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><\/noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Katie Thomas has one hand in this body cam footage.\" class=\"wp-image-555955 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-728x410.png 728w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-1080x608.png 1080w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0528_use_katiethomas_01.png\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Palm Beach police deputy captured body cam footage of Katie Thomas not having a right hand after accusing her of holding a device in her right hand.<span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Image Credit: Palm Beach County Sheriff\u2019s Office)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-she-had-a-rock-solid-alibi\">She had a rock-solid alibi<\/h2>\n<p>On February 11, a Palm Beach County police deputy pulled over Kathleen Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Katie is a 36-year-old adaptive athlete. She is also an influencer.<\/p>\n<p>She does not have a right hand. Like many disabled folks, she is still able to do many things \u2014 such a drive. She just does it a little differently than someone with two hands might.<\/p>\n<p>Back in February, the deputy explained that his department was doing extra enforcement surrounding distracted driving. He claimed to have seen her holding a phone in her right hand.<\/p>\n<p>Someone holding a phone in their right hand would likely be distracted. However, Katie had a <em>pretty good alibi<\/em>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DY3gMFhPT9a\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p>As you can see from the bodycam footage \u2014 first released to Katie as discovery, then distributed on social media to widespread laughter \u2014 the officer walks up to issue the citation.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Katie shows that she does not have a right hand, the officer was undeterred.<\/p>\n<p>Now, this could have gone worse. Some traffic stops end in deadly shootouts, after all.<\/p>\n<p>But the deputy persisted, issuing a citation \u2014 a $116 ticket, under Florida law.<\/p>\n<p>He even bizarrely asked her to swear \u201chand to god\u201d that she had not been holding a phone. That was a poor choice of words.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-theme=\"dark\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I have been uncontrollably wheezing at this all morning <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/o8BLtH7Lcd\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/t.co\/o8BLtH7Lcd<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PkVDApE95D\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/PkVDApE95D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Grip Skylark \ud83d\udc95\u2728 (@talleyberrybaby) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/talleyberrybaby\/status\/2059659571539431526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">May 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-case-dismissed\">Case dismissed!<\/h2>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/florida-news-viral-tiktok-charges-dismissed-for-woman-without-right-hand-cited-for-holding-phone-while-driving-south-florida-texting-while-driving-wireless-communication-device\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CBS12<\/a><\/em> has confirmed that Katie will not, in fact, have to pay a fine for a traffic violation that would only be possible through telekinesis.<\/p>\n<p>(Point of order, Florida law doesn\u2019t actually outlaw <em>holding<\/em> a phone. She would have had to have been using it, such as to text someone, to run into legal trouble.)<\/p>\n<p>As it turned out, she did not even have to make her argument in court.<\/p>\n<p>The officer who made the traffic stop requested that the charge be dropped.<\/p>\n<p>Katie would have had to show up to court this week. Instead, her citation has been dismissed without issue.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bodycam: Cop pulls over driver missing right hand for holding phone with right hand\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-HV5EaIFjV0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Distracted driving does endanger \u2014 and end \u2014 lives. <\/p>\n<p>That didn\u2019t <em>start <\/em>with the invention of the cellphone, but mobile devices definitely make it a more widespread phenomenon. <\/p>\n<p>But, obviously, Katie wasn\u2019t endangering anyone. (And if she was distracted, it\u2019s very unlikely that it could be proven in court.)<\/p>\n<p>Changing driver behavior requires <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iihs.org\/news\/detail\/with-publicity-and-education-traffic-safety-laws-can-change-behavior\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">publicity and education<\/a>. Otherwise, an enforcement blitz just looks like a cash grab from a police department.<\/p>\n<p>Katie\u2019s case wasn\u2019t really about driving safety or disability rights. It came down to a particularly absurd example of someone refusing to back down in the moment. That\u2019s a very human thing to do, but it\u2019s also very funny.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2026\/05\/katie-thomas-amputee-ticketed-distracted-driving-court-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading Time: 3 minutes A video has gone viral after an influencer and athlete shared bodycam footage of her traffic stop. The bad news \u2014 or, at least, the weird news is that she\u2019s accused of something that\u2019s physically impossible. In the video, the officer accuses her of scrolling through her phone with her right [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":242853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-242851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hollywood"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}