Tampa Police Chief Used Her Position To Get Out Of A Ticket & She's Now Jobless (VIDEO)
"The disappointment today runs so deep. I had high hope for Chief O’Connor," Mayor Jane Castor published.
Tampa Police car.
Former Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor is now without a job after she was caught on a police body camera actively not following the law and using her title to get her out of a traffic stop.
The incident occurred on November 12 and the bodycam footage was uploaded to TikTok this week. The footage shows an officer pulling over a couple in a golf cart that happened to be — at the time — Chief O'Connor with a man in the driver's seat.
The officer mentioned that he stopped them because they were driving an unregistered vehicle without a tag on the cart on the roadway.
While the man in the driver seat tried explaining why they were in the vehicle, O'Connor asked if the cop's body camera was on. After he confirmed it was, she continued to make the attempt to get out of the ticket using her position.
"I'm the police chief in Tampa," she said. "I'm hoping that you'll just let us go tonight," she flashed her badge to the cop.
O'Connor then proceeded to give him her business card and told him to let her know if he ever needed anything.
@nowthis ‘You ever need anything, call me. Serious.’ — Tampa PD Chief Mary O’Connor resigned after body camera footage showed her flashing her badge to a sheriff’s deputy who pulled her and her husband over in a golf cart #Tampa #florida #police #news
She was put on administrative leave and then effectively resigned on December 5, to what she said was a "poor judgment" call.
"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," O'Connor was quoted in a statement on December 1.
The Tampa Police Department and Mayor Jane Castor took to Facebook to share their thoughts.
TPD staff wrote on their official account that they do not want O'Connor's resignation to be a distraction from the work they serve daily.
Mayor Castor took to her public social media page and said that as Chief you should not only abide by but also enforce the law.
"This is especially disappointing because I gave Mary O’Connor a second chance, as I believe in second chances for people. Which is one of the reasons that the disappointment today runs so deep. I had high hope for Chief O’Connor," wrote Castor.
Assistant Chief Lee Bercaw will act as chief for the time being.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.