A Connecticut man was cited for distracted driving after police mistook a McDonald’s hash brown for a cellphone, they gave him a ticket, and he challenged the charge and lost in court.

He was pulled over charged with distracted driving, because the police say he was on his phone.

He says phone records show he didn’t make any calls around the time he was pulled over, plus he has Bluetooth so has no reason to hold a phone while driving.

Lt. Jillian Cabana says the department stands by its story. “He was pulled over for talking on his cellphone and given an infraction. I’m sure his claim is different,” Lt. Cabana said, but could not comment further due to the pending case.

A Westport resident since 2007, Stiber first went to trial to fight the ticket in August before a magistrate judge, who found him guilty despite Stiber’s presentation of the phone activity records. Stiber then requested a retrial, which is set to occur at state Superior Court in Norwalk on Dec. 7.

To prepare for the retrial, Stiber hired a lawyer for $1,000, about the same price he said his driver’s insurance increased due to the ticket.

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/26/670752935/connecticut-man-says-hash-brown-got-him-into-trouble-with-police
https://fox61.com/2018/11/26/westport-driver-i-wasnt-on-my-phone-i-was-eating-a-hash-brown/
https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Westport-man-goes-to-court-over-hash-brown-dispute-13412629.php