Over the past year, there have been numerous reports of ICE agents and police officers behaving irrationally, with incidents ranging from minor misconduct to far more serious—and even fatal—offenses. But such behavior can also veer into the absurd. One Florida woman experienced this firsthand when she was ticketed for texting while driving—despite not having the hand the officer claimed she used to hold the phone.
It’s absurd that she received a ticket in the first place, especially since it suggests she wasn’t using her hand to steer the vehicle. Even more unreasonable is how firmly the officer stood by his accusation, despite realizing how baseless it was.
The video above shows an adaptive athlete and TikTok user, @slightlyoff.balance, being accused by an officer of texting while driving—despite the fact that she does not even have the hand in which he claimed she was holding the phone. When the officer approached her window to explain the reason for the ticket, he allegedly stated that he had seen her holding a phone in her right hand.
She shared a video of the encounter in which the officer can be clearly heard saying, “Okay, ma’am, you’re going to receive a citation for using a handheld wireless communication device while driving. You can’t do that; you need to put the phone down while operating a motor vehicle.” She immediately responds, “Oh, and you noted that you saw me holding it in my right hand?” The exchange also appears to raise questions about whether the officer may have been seeking a pretext for retaliation.
However, when she challenged the officer’s accusation, he responded, “I’m not disagreeing with you. Yes, that’s what I said.” He then issued the citation anyway and even explained how she could contest it in court.
Florida Woman Cited for Texting While Driving Despite Having No Hands to Text With
Even after noticing that she was missing a hand, the officer never questioned how she could have been driving if her only hand was supposedly holding her phone. At the end of the video, she demonstrates how she allegedly would have held it—something she clearly could not have done.
Commenters quickly weighed in with their opinions, many making light of the situation. One person joked, “She won’t even need a lawyer. She can handle this situation single-handedly.” Others took a harsher tone, with one commenter writing, “Request for a court to put him on a Brady list; it will end his career.”
No updates have been posted about the situation yet, but I hope it can be resolved soon, as it truly is a ridiculous situation.
