The police chief in Tampa, Florida, resigned Monday after utilizing her place to flee a ticket throughout a visitors cease involving a golf cart pushed by her husband.
Mary O'Connor submitted her resignation after an inside affairs assessment discovered she violated police division coverage in the course of the Nov. 12 cease by a Pinellas County sheriff's deputy.
Throughout that cease — which was recorded on video by the deputy's physique digital camera — O'Connor recognized herself because the Tampa chief, flashed her badge and mentioned, "I am hoping you'll allow us to go tonight."
The deputy issued solely a verbal warning as a substitute of a quotation. The golf cart didn't have a license tag, a requirement for when such autos are pushed on public streets. O'Connor's husband, Keith, mentioned they'd simply come from a restaurant and did not normally drive the cart on streets.
The inside assessment discovered O'Connor, who had been on the job lower than a yr, violated rules on requirements of conduct and "abuse of place or identification."
"The Tampa Police Division has a code of conduct that features excessive requirements for moral and professional conduct that apply to each member of our police drive," Mayor Jane Castor — herself a former Tampa police chief — mentioned in an announcement requesting the resignation. "Because the Chief of Police, you aren't solely to abide by and implement these requirements however to additionally lead by instance. That clearly didn't occur on this case."
Castor appointed Lee Bercaw, who was assistant chief, as appearing chief whereas a nationwide search begins.
"In Lee Bercaw, we have now a considerate and extremely regarded chief in progressive policing. I'm grateful he can hit the bottom working and proceed working with our group to maintain our metropolis secure," Castor mentioned within the assertion.
Final week, O'Connor issued an announcement apologizing for her conduct.
"In hindsight, I notice how my dealing with of this matter might be considered as inappropriate, however that was actually not my intent," she mentioned.
In her resignation letter, O'Connor touted her accomplishments as police chief however took accountability for her actions.
"I might by no means need my private mistake to face in the best way of the progress I've made in mending relationships between the police division and the group," she wrote, "so for that purpose, I'm resigning."