Categories: Automobile

Tampa Police Chief Resigns After Flashing Her Badge To Get Out Of A Ticket

[ad_1]

The Chief of Police in Tampa, Florida, has resigned after a latest site visitors cease. As the topic of that cease, she flashed her badge and requested that the on-duty officer let her go. Now, officers are calling for a full investigation.

O’Connor and her husband had been topics of a site visitors cease on November twelfth when an on-duty officer observed them driving down the street with out a license plate on their golf cart. The physique digicam footage of the interplay turned public on December 1st prompting an investigation.

O’Connor begins her a part of the interplay with the query “Is your digicam on?” After the officer confirms that it’s, she instantly follows up with “I’m the police chief in Tampa.” “I’m hoping that you simply’ll simply allow us to go immediately,” falls out of her lips solely a second or two later.

Extra: Two Police Officers Arrested After Crashing Marked Patrol Automobiles Whereas Driving Drunk

The on-duty deputy instantly modifications his demeanor, tells the O’Connors to have a very good evening, and says that it was good to satisfy the chief. Earlier than he can get again to his cruiser, O’Connor palms him a enterprise card and says “for those who ever want something, name me… critically.” In response to the incident, Mayor Jane Castor known as for O’Connor to resign and that’s precisely what she did.

Castor mentioned that “The Tampa Police Division has a code of conduct that features excessive requirements for moral {and professional} habits that apply to each member of our police pressure. 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.”

Placing apart the truth that the rationale for the cease appears a bit doubtful, in any case, how a lot does a plate on a golf cart actually matter, there’s clearly a difficulty with each officers’ habits. For her half, O’Connor appears to grasp that at this level.

In her resignation, she says that she “would 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 neighborhood, so for that purpose, I’m resigning.”

As of this writing, there’s no phrase on what if any self-discipline has been issued to the deputy who stopped the O’Connors or what the now-former police chief’s plan is for the longer term.