Florida deputy accuses driver of 'holding a phone' with her 'right hand.' But there's a big problem.



A Florida sheriff's deputy a few months back pulled over a driver and proceeded to tell her that she was "holding a phone" with her "right hand," which would be a violation of the state's wireless communications while driving law.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy told the woman during the Feb. 11 stop in Lake Worth Beach that "we're doing an operation for distracted driving, and you drove past me holding a phone with your right hand," according to bodycam video of the traffic stop.

'Hand to God — you did not have a phone in your hand?'

But there was a big problem with that accusation.

The driver quickly lifted up her right arm and showed the deputy that she has no right hand. In fact, it appears most of her right forearm is missing too.

The motorist laughed and told the deputy, "So, obviously not!"

RELATED: Video: Florida motorist decides to drive in reverse for a while — and then comes face-to-face with deputies

The woman then asked the deputy, "So, you wanna just call this a day, or ...?"

But the deputy persisted: "I don't want to call it day — you had a hand up manipulating a phone."

The woman argued back, "You just said my right hand."

The deputy replied that he "thought" he saw her "right hand."

She then insisted, "You didn't" — and then held up her arm with no right hand and moved it closer to the open driver-side window.

"You didn't see me with my right hand," she added.

The deputy persisted and asked the woman if she had a phone in her hand, not specifying right hand or left hand.

"I did not," she replied.

Almost comically, the deputy came back with, "Hand to God — you did not have a phone in your hand?"

The woman then raised her right arm that lacked a hand and replied, "Hand to God."

The deputy then asked, "Your other hand to God — you didn't have a phone in your hand?"

The woman then raised her left arm — which has a hand attached — and repeated, "Hand to God."

With that, the deputy issued her a citation anyway for "wireless communication handheld while driving" — and the pair began sparring again before the deputy acknowledged to her that he did, in fact, say that he saw her holding a phone in her right hand and that she can take the citation to court.

The woman posted video of the traffic stop on TikTok, WPEC-TV reported, and as you can imagine, the station said the case drew widespread attention.

What's more, the station said the civil penalty amounted to $116.

Naturally, the woman said she requested a hearing date and planned to fight the citation in court, WPEC said.

But it turns out that it wouldn't be necessary.

RELATED: Police stop bicycle-riding male for traffic violation; turns out he has a gun and then runs from cop. It doesn't end well.

WPEC said a hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday of this week — May 26 — but the hearing was canceled after the case was dropped.

In fact, court records show the citation was dismissed at the request of the deputy who issued it, the station said.

WPEC added in a video short published Friday that the incident is now "under agency review."

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'Despicable' homicide suspect caught on body cam pointing gun at Florida deputy — and pulling trigger, cops say



A "despicable" homicide suspect was caught on bodycam video pointing a gun at a Florida deputy and pulling the trigger, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

Authorities said the Feb. 20 incident took place in Port Charlotte, which is about an hour southeast of Sarasota.

'Let me be clear: This individual is lucky to be alive today.'

Deputies got word that two suspects from a Sarasota County burglary were driving through their jurisdiction in a rental car, officials said.

After observing a traffic violation, deputies stopped the car and made contact with the occupants, officials said.

The driver was identified as 41-year-old Amy Lee; the passenger refused to provide his identification, officials said.

At first, neither Lee nor the passenger complied with deputy commands to exit the vehicle, but officials said they soon obeyed when they were told they would be arrested for obstruction.

Officials learned that Lee was arrested last year on multiple felony charges and that her co-defendant in those cases was 55-year-old Brian Hewson. He turned out to be the passenger in the rental vehicle, and he also had multiple warrants for his arrest, officials said.

Hewson "immediately resisted" when deputies tried placing him under arrest, and a deputy drew his agency-issued taser while shouting a warning, officials said.

But Hewson pulled a concealed firearm, pointed it directly at the deputy, and pulled the trigger, officials said.

However, there was no round in the chamber of the loaded gun, officials said, and it didn't fire.

With that, the deputy discharged additional taser probes — yet Hewson still tried to re-rack the gun, officials said.

"Thankfully, due to the neuromuscular incapacitation, Hewson was unable to maintain control of the gun, and it was secured by deputies," officials said.

RELATED: Florida felon named Blackie accused of pointing gun at vehicle in fit of road rage

Officials said Hewson was arrested for multiple warrants — including one for homicide in Pennsylvania, one for failure to appear in Pennsylvania, and charges in Lee County related to trafficking stolen property.

He also was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer for intentionally pointing a firearm at a CCSO deputy, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance (1.1 grams of fentanyl found in the vehicle), resisting with violence, and possession of drug paraphernalia, officials said.

He was being held at the Charlotte County Jail without bond, officials said.

RELATED: Knifed for 'being a Christian'? Suspect allegedly stabs man and his dog after asking about victim's religion

Brian Hewson. Image source: Charlotte County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office

“Let me be clear: This individual is lucky to be alive today," Sheriff Bill Prummell said, adding that "I want to be sure it is understood that my deputies are trained to eliminate a lethal threat with deadly force. They deserve to go home to their families after their shift. This despicable human tried to take one of my deputies out instead of being a man and accepting accountability for his own decisions. Now he will face the justice he has tried to dodge for so long ... and I hope he spends the rest of his days behind bars.”

The sheriff's office added in its Facebook post about the incident that "as a point of clarification: We see a few people questioning why our deputy went taser instead of lethal. The answer to that is that he already had the taser in hand before the firearm was seen. Had our deputy attempted to switch from taser to firearm, he likely would have already been shot. The reaction, in the moment, is to use the taser that was already drawn and aimed to incapacitate the suspect. As you can see in the video, this happened VERY quickly."

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Viral video: Florida deputy drives into teen bike rider, tackles him, handcuffs him. But cops give reason for takedown.



A viral cellphone video shows a Florida sheriff's deputy driving into a teenage bike rider, then tackling him and then handcuffing him.

But the Broward County Sheriff's Office gave WTVJ-TV a reason for Monday's incident in Deerfield Beach.

The teen who was taken down was part of a group of bike riders pulling dangerous stunts along Hillsboro Boulevard and impeding traffic, the sheriff's office told WTVJ.

The clip shows about 10 young males riding bikes in an intersection when the driver of a blue SUV makes a sharp left turn, running into — and apparently over — a bike rider's rear wheel, appearing to crush it. A number of hoots and hollers follow, and the bike rider tries to get away. But the masked deputy emerges from the SUV, tackles the teen, and puts handcuffs on him — much to the chagrin of the kid's comrades.

Here's another video of the incident, shot from the opposite angle, and it shows an additional 10 to 15 bike riders the first video doesn't capture.

The teen who was taken down was part of a group of bike riders pulling dangerous stunts along Hillsboro Boulevard and impeding traffic, the sheriff's office told WTVJ.

Sheriff's officials added to the station that the teen in question was taken to a hospital as a precaution and later released to his family with a juvenile civil citation.

WTVJ said other youths were cited for violations, including disobeying red lights and not wearing bike helmets.

The sheriff's office added to the station that the incident underscores the ongoing, organized pattern of reckless behavior by groups of juvenile bicyclists that encourages and rewards dangerous stunts and activities on busy South Florida roads.

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Suspected Killer Of Rural Michigan Deputy Had Served Multiple Reduced Sentences

Small-town America is no longer immune from big-city violence.

Off-duty Florida firefighter on way to son's soccer practice saves deputy from fiery wreck: 'This is what we do'



An off-duty Florida firefighter may have been late in getting his son to soccer practice Saturday morning, but he was right on time when it came to saving the life of a 33-year-old Seminole County deputy.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office indicated that Deputy Matthew Luxon suffered a medical emergency around 10:30 a.m. near Orange Boulevard and Wayside Drive in Sanford, Florida, where he then crashed into a concrete pillar.

The medical incident and the resultant crash may have been the beginning of Luxon's problems, but they certainly weren't the last. His patrol car caught fire and quickly became an inferno.

Lt. Benjamin Wootson of the Orlando Fire Department happened to be in the neighborhood, rushing his son to soccer practice.

The off-duty firefighter told WFTV, "We were running late getting to my son’s soccer practice. ... Typically, we try to get there 30, 45 minutes early so they can do the warm-up. My son was dragging his feet, taking his time. As we were turning left onto Orange, I noticed a patrol car coming toward us."

Wootson noted he has a "habit of always looking in my mirrors."

Sure enough, when he checked his rearview, he saw Luxon's patrol vehicle hammer the overpass support.

"I immediately pulled a U-turn at the next intersection and rushed back," said Wootson. "By the time i got on scene, there was a little bit of flames on the underneath of the vehicle, the engine compartment was already on fire."

Wootson told WOFL-TV, "As I was pulling him out there were probably two golf ball-size flames where his legs were."

Wootson managed to get the disoriented deputy out of his seatbelt and ultimately out of the blaze. No sooner had the firefighter disentangled Luxon from the wreck than the patrol vehicle burst into flames, along with the ammunition in the trunk.

As bullets sounded off and the fire burned, Wootson used the deputy's radio to call for "an officer down scenario."

While he tended to Luxon, Wootson's neighbor arrived on the scene to tend to the firefighter's son. Another onlooker moved the firefighter's car to get clear of the heated display.

Image composites consists of Seminole County Sheriff's Office photos

The SCSO indicated that Luxon was taken to a local hospital where he underwent successful surgeries and was stabilized.

According to WFTV, the deputy is still in the hospital.

Sheriff Dennis Lemma said in a statement Sunday, "Matt had successful surgeries into the late hours on Saturday but make no mistake; he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. The support of our Seminole County, and the greater Central Florida community, will help Matt pull through now and into the immediate future."

One of Luxon's coworkers started a fundraiser for the injured deputy and his family, which has already secured in excess of $22,000.

As for Wootson's heroics, Sheriff Lemma said, "I also spoke with Orlando Fire Department Lieutenant Benjamin Wootson, who heroically rescued Matt from his patrol unit moments after his crash and just before the unit caught fire. Lt. Wootson, who was off duty and also very kind when we spoke, simply reminded me that 'this is what we do.'"

Lemma added, "I thank God that he was there at that time, and I expressed my gratitude and shared commendation to OFD Chief Charlie Salazar as well."

Wootson reckons his delay and his son's apparent tardiness Saturday morning were providential: "God put me in a place where [my son and I] were running late on purpose. I was in the right place at the right time to save an individual."

The firefighter emphasized to WESH-TV, "If you're ever in a circumstance and you see something, don't just sit back and watch. Get out, do what's right, make a change because those little things could be a long impact lasting, it could be generational changes."

Off-duty firefighter saves Seminole County deputy from burning car youtu.be

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