Bodycam footage showed Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor flashing her badge and saying she's "hoping that you'll just let us go tonight", after her spouse was pulled over for driving a golf cart on public roads. The deputy let them go but the footage was uncovered, and now she's been placed on administrative leave, reports CNN.
UPDATE: She's resigned.
"It was poor judgment on our part to be driving a golf cart on a public roadway without the appropriate tags," O'Connor said. "This was the first time we had exited the golf-cart friendly community in which we own property with this vehicle, prompting the need for a license plate."
"In hindsight, I realize how my handling of this matter could be viewed as inappropriate, but that was certainly not my intent. 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," she added.
"We hold everyone accountable, no matter their position, and this behavior was unacceptable. Chief O'Connor will go through the due process and face appropriate discipline," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in an accompanying statement Thursday.
