US deputy cited woman for using right hand while driving — she was born without one

A Florida woman born without a right hand went viral after a sheriff's deputy cited her for using her right hand on her phone while driving. The deputy issued the $116 fine even after seeing her arm, then dropped the charge just before the case went to court — after body camera footage spread across social media and drew widespread outrage.

According to CBS News, Kaycelyn Thomas, a woman in her 30s who lives in Lake Worth, Florida, was pulled over by a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy in February while driving.

The deputy approached her vehicle and told her he had clearly seen her operating her phone with her right hand while driving.

Thomas laughed and raised her right arm to show him — she was born without her forearm below the elbow.

"At first I burst out laughing because I thought it was just a misunderstanding," Thomas said of the encounter. But the deputy did not apologize. Instead, he pressed on with a series of baffling demands.

He asked Thomas whether she could "swear to God" she had not been using a phone. When she raised her shortened right arm again, he ignored it and told her to raise her "other hand."

Even after confirming she had no right hand with which to operate a phone, the deputy refused to back down. He issued her a $116 (about 160,000 won) fine.

Thomas filed a public records request to obtain the body camera footage and posted it on her social media accounts, where it quickly racked up millions of views and sparked anger online.

"I don't think the officer had bad intentions — I think he just wasn't trained on how to interact with people who have physical differences," Thomas said. "I hope this incident raises awareness about what it means to be different."

As the story gained traction, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office voided the citation. In a statement, the office said the stop had been initiated based on the deputy's visual observation at the time, but that after reviewing state law and considering the overall circumstances — including ambiguities in how the violation was recorded in the citation system — it decided to cancel the fine.

최대 7억 슈퍼카 인증 아나운서에 “남자 스폰 받았다”…법원 “허위 사실, 800만원 배상” [세상&]

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