After being caught on body camera footage flashing her badge during a traffic stop and saying she hoped the deputy would “let us go,” Tampa, Florida’s police chief was placed on administrative leave.
On November 12, a Pinellas County deputy pulled over Police Chief Mary O’Connor and her husband for operating a golf cart without a license plate tag.
In the video, the deputy informs the couple that they were stopped because they were operating an unregistered vehicle without a tag.
O’Connor states, “I’m the police chief in Tampa,” while flashing her law enforcement badge. “I’m hoping you’ll just let us go tonight,” she added.
“If you ever need anything, call me,” O’Connor said, handing the deputy her card. “Seriously.”
The couple was let go without incident.
O’Connor later said her actions were a result of “poor judgment” and she realized her handling of it could be viewed as inappropriate.
“It was poor judgment on our part to be driving a golf cart on a public roadway without the appropriate tags. This was the first time we had exited the golf-cart friendly community in which we own property with this vehicle, prompting the need for a license plate,” O’Connor said. “In hindsight, I realize how my handling of this matter could be viewed as inappropriate, but that was certainly not my intent. I knew my conversation was on video, and my motive was not to put the deputy in an uncomfortable position. I have personally called the Pinellas County Sheriff offering to pay for any potential citation.”
She added, “I have expressed great remorse to the mayor, and I apologize to the residents of Tampa who have a reasonable expectation of better judgment from their chief of police. As someone who has dealt with, taken ownership of and grown from my past mistakes, I know that no one is above the law, including me.”
In a statement about the incident issued on Friday afternoon, Mayor Jane Castor said that O’Connor had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the traffic stop.
While O’Connor is away, assistant chief Lee Bercaw is in charge in Tampa.
