A Florida woman who went viral after being ticketed for allegedly holding a phone in her right hand, which she does not have, has had her case dismissed. Katie Thomas, an adaptive athlete known on TikTok as slightlyoff.balance, was pulled over in February by a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy.
Bodycam footage shows the deputy approaching Thomas's car and accusing her of holding a phone in her right hand during a distracted driving operation. Thomas raised her right arm to show she has no right hand. The deputy insisted, saying, 'I mean, I saw you.' Thomas laughed and replied, 'I mean, obviously not.'
The deputy continued to press the issue, asking, 'Hand to God, you did not have a phone in your hand?' Thomas again showed her missing hand. The deputy then asked her to raise her left hand. Court records show the case was dismissed at the deputy's request, citing lack of evidence. Thomas's court date was canceled.
In a follow-up video, Thomas said, 'I cannot make up the reason behind why it was dismissed. It says a lack of evidence. Bruh, we knew that already.' Her videos received thousands of supportive comments, with one user noting, 'The refusing to be wrong is the scary part.' Another wrote, 'Hand to God... God already has the hand.'
A spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office stated that deputies are authorized to issue citations when they reasonably believe a violation occurred. In this case, the deputy acted based on his visual observation at the time.
