Tampa police chief pulls out badge, asks deputy to 'let us go' during traffic stop - Tampa Bay Times

Tampa police Chief Mary O’Connor identified herself arsenic chief, pulled retired her badge and asked a Pinellas sheriff’s lawman to “just fto america go” aft she and her hubby were pulled implicit successful a play cart past month, a video shared by the Tampa Police Department connected Thursday showed.

In the video, which was recorded by the deputy’s assemblage camera during the Nov. 12 postulation halt successful Oldsmar, the lawman instantly lets them spell arsenic they speech pleasantries.

He asks if they unrecorded successful East Lake Woodlands and the mates confirms they do.

“Well, it’s bully to conscionable you. I’m Deputy Jacoby,” helium says.

He and O’Connor shingle hands arsenic she responds, “Same here, my friend. Take attraction of yourself. Sorry to fuss you.”

“No worries,” the lawman replies earlier adding, “We person a batch of problems with the play carting astir here.”

The mates tells him they don’t usually travel out, but they went to a Greek edifice to get immoderate takeout food.

She past hands implicit what appears to beryllium her concern card, telling the deputy, “You ever request anything, telephone me.”

O’Connor’s husband, Keith, was not cited for not having a tag connected the play cart portion helium was driving connected a nationalist road.

The incidental was archetypal reported by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

O’Connor could not beryllium instantly reached for remark Thursday afternoon.

A quality merchandise from the Police Department includes a connection from O’Connor successful which she says she has apologized to Mayor Jane Castor and wants to apologize to residents.

“In hindsight, I recognize however my handling of this substance could beryllium viewed arsenic inappropriate, but that was surely not my intent,” O’Connor said. “I knew my speech was connected video, and my motive was not to enactment the lawman successful an uncomfortable position. I person personally called the Pinellas County Sheriff offering to wage for immoderate imaginable citation.”

Castor besides could not beryllium reached for remark Thursday, but the quality merchandise included a connection from her successful which she said: “We clasp everyone accountable, nary substance their position, and this behaviour was unacceptable. Chief O’Connor volition spell done the owed process and look due discipline.”

According to the release, O’Connor has contacted the Tampa Police Professional Standards Bureau “asking to person the aforesaid subject that immoderate serviceman would person for akin conduct.”

The Police Department said an interior reappraisal presently is being conducted.

The Pinellas lawman is not nether reappraisal for the incident, according to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Amanda Sinni.

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O’Connor’s behaviour — and consequent apprehension — during different postulation halt immoderate 3 decades agone portion she was a rookie Tampa serviceman was among the issues that mired her assignment arsenic main successful controversy.

In 1995, O’Connor was with her then-boyfriend Keith O’Connor, besides a Tampa constabulary officer, erstwhile they were pulled implicit by a Hillsborough sheriff’s deputy. Mary O’Connor, known past arsenic Mary Minter, repeatedly disrupted deputies who were trying to springiness Keith O’Connor a sobriety test, and she was asked to beryllium successful a patrol car to calm down, according to published reports and unit records.

She kicked the windows and struck a lawman connected the enarthrosis and thorax with her fist. Deputies arrested Keith O’Connor connected a drunken driving complaint and Minter connected charges of artillery connected a instrumentality enforcement officer, obstruction and disorderly intoxication. She pleaded nary contention to misdemeanor charges of artillery and obstruction. A justice withheld adjudication.

Both officers were suspended and past fired, but aboriginal reinstated. Both worked their mode up to the apical ranks of the department. Keith O’Connor retired successful 2019 arsenic an adjunct main and is present the city’s vicinity enhancement manager.

O’Connor has said she was an immature idiosyncratic who made a unspeakable determination and past made the astir of her 2nd accidental astatine a instrumentality enforcement career. She said the acquisition gave her invaluable position that helped her arsenic a bull and would assistance her arsenic the department’s leader.

Tampa City Council subordinate Bill Carlson told the Tampa Bay Times successful a text, ”This proves that (council subordinate Orlando) Gudes and I were close successful challenging this assignment and that Castor should person listened to the nationalist feedback alternatively than bullying and attacking Council related to this vote.”

Gudes declined to remark until he’d work the story.

Randy Nelson, a policing adept and prof astatine Bethune-Cookman University, reviewed the footage posted to the Tampa Police Department’s YouTube transmission astatine the petition of the Times. He said it’s peculiarly important for instrumentality enforcement officers to amusement leadership, fixed the existent governmental clime and waning spot successful police.

”Integrity matters,” helium said. “The nationalist should consciousness that whether you halt maine oregon you halt idiosyncratic that’s a politician, that they’ll beryllium treated the same.”

Times unit writers Chris Tisch, Tony Marrero, Natalie Weber, Charlie Frago and Matt Cohen contributed to this report.