The Eyrie

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — A Florida traffic citation issued after a deputy accused a woman of holding a phone in her right hand has been dismissed months after the stop went viral online.

Katie Thomas posted video of the February encounter on social media, drawing wide attention to the traffic stop and the deputy’s accusation. Palm Beach County court records show the citation was dismissed Tuesday at the request of the sheriff’s office for insufficient evidence.

The case centered on a claim that Thomas was texting while driving. During the stop, body camera footage shows the deputy telling her he believed he saw her manipulating a phone with her right hand. Thomas then raised her right arm and showed that she does not have a right hand.

Body camera footage captured the moment the deputy made the stop

ABC News obtained body camera footage from the February stop, which shows a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy pulling Thomas over before the exchange unfolded on camera.

In the video, the deputy tells Thomas, “You drove past me holding the phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone.” Thomas responds by showing her right arm and saying, “Obviously not.” She then asks, “So you want to just call this a day?”

The footage became part of a broader public conversation after Thomas shared it online. The stop stood out because the accusation appeared to conflict with her visible physical condition, making the encounter a flashpoint for criticism and questions about how the citation was issued.

The citation carried a 116 dollar fine for texting while driving

Thomas was initially issued a $116 traffic citation for texting while driving. Despite her denial during the stop, the deputy proceeded with the enforcement action.

According to the sheriff’s office, the deputy made the stop based on what he believed he saw in real time. That explanation became central once the video spread and the accuracy of the observation came under scrutiny.

The citation itself did not remain in place for long after further review. Court records show it was later dismissed, ending the case before it moved any further through the judicial process.

Palm Beach County records show the sheriff’s office requested dismissal

Palm Beach County court records indicate the sheriff’s office asked for the citation to be dismissed on Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence. That request led to the case being thrown out.

In a statement, the sheriff’s office said the deputy initiated the traffic stop “based upon his visual observation at the time of the incident.” The office said the decision to drop the case came after additional review of the Florida State Statutes involved and “the totality of the circumstances.”

The office did not dispute that the citation had been issued, but said the later review changed how the matter was handled. The dismissal closed out a traffic case that had already gained attention far beyond Palm Beach County.

Sheriff’s office says deputies must act on what they see in real time

The sheriff’s office used the case to underscore how law enforcement decisions are made during traffic stops. In its statement, the agency said officers are required to act on observations made in real time, even when later review may lead to a different outcome.

It also noted that motorists have the right to contest citations through the court system, where evidence can be examined more fully. That process, the office said, is designed to allow all facts to be evaluated.

The statement framed the dismissal as part of that broader process rather than as a denial that the stop occurred. For Thomas, however, the court’s action brought an end to a citation that had already become a widely shared example of a mistaken police encounter.

Viral attention turned a routine stop into a public discussion

What might otherwise have remained a routine traffic citation instead became a viral story once Thomas posted the footage online. The clip drew attention because of the contrast between the deputy’s accusation and Thomas’s physical reality.

The reaction also reflected how quickly ordinary traffic stops can become public when body camera footage and personal video are shared online. In this case, the added visibility appears to have sped up scrutiny of the citation and the evidence behind it.

By Tuesday, the sheriff’s office had asked the court to dismiss the case, and the records show the matter was dropped. The end result left the video, the citation, and the deputy’s mistaken assumption at the center of a story that spread well beyond the original stop.