Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor has been placed on leave after body-cam footage emerged, showing that she pulled the “don’t you know who I am” card when she and her hubby were stopped for cruising around town in a golf cart with no license plates.
Mayor Jane Castor announced the move on Friday, just a day after local paper Creative Loafing Tampa Bay published footage they said they obtained after “weeks of targeted public records requests.”
“Police Chief Mary O'Connor has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into a recent traffic stop,” Castor tweeted. The mayor—who was police chief herself between 2009 and 2015—did not release further details about the length of leave.
The footage obtained by Creative Loafing captured Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy Larry Jacoby pulling O’Connor and husband Keith over at about 7.30 p.m. on Nov. 13.
O’Connor first checked if Jacoby’s camera was on before she flashed her badge and told him, “I’m the police chief from Tampa... I’m hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight.”
Jacoby mentioned that he thought he recognized her before shaking her hand and letting her go.
Before she carted off into the night, O’Connor gave Jacoby her card and told him, “If you ever need anything call me—serious.”
The incident went unreported for weeks. Creative Loafing editor Ray Roa tweeted that the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office initially insisted they “couldn’t find” the body-cam footage. Then, when deputies released the video on Thursday night, Roa said the Tampa Police Department caught wind of its release and tried to apologize before it was published.
Once public, O’Connor suddenly appeared remorseful, sending an email to her staff conceding she used “poor judgment.”
“In hindsight, I realize that conversation could be viewed as inappropriate, but that was certainly not my intent,” she wrote, according to Creative Loafing. “I’ve personally called the Pinellas County Sheriff Office offering to pay for any potential citation.”
The ordeal is sure to put pressure on Castor, who was heavily criticized earlier this year for choosing O’Connor—who was arrested when she was a rookie cop, reinstated, and had retired from the department in 2016 before returning for the top job.
O’Connor’s arrest in 1995 began in a similar manner to November’s incident. Back then, Keith O’Connor, now her husband, was pulled over on suspicion of DUI by a Hillsborough County Sheriff deputy and later charged with drunk driving.
When the couple were placed in the back of Hillsborough County deputies’ cruiser, however, O’Connor kicked the windows and punched the arresting deputy.
The future chief was charged with assault, obstruction and disorderly intoxication. She and Keith were thrown off the Tampa Police force, but were later reinstated.
O'Connor did not respond to a phone call from The Daily Beast on Friday.
Tampa City councilman Bill Carlson said the latest incident was proof that his and others’ criticism of Castor’s decision was warranted earlier this year.
“This proves that [Councilman Orlando] Gudes and I were correct in challenging this appointment and that Castor should have listened to the public feedback rather than bullying and attacking Council related to this vote,” he told Creative Loafing.
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