TAMPA, Fla.—The police chief in Tampa, Florida, resigned Monday after using her position to escape a ticket during a traffic stop involving a golf cart driven by her husband.
Mary O’Connor submitted her resignation after an internal affairs review found she violated police department policy during the Nov. 12 stop by a Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy.
During that stop—which was recorded on video by the deputy’s body camera—O’Connor identified herself as the Tampa chief, flashed her badge and said “I’m hoping you will let us go tonight.”
The deputy issued only a verbal warning instead of a citation, according to the internal affairs review. The golf cart did not have a license tag, a requirement for when such vehicles are driven on public streets. O’Connor’s husband, Keith, said they had just come from a restaurant and didn’t usually drive the cart on streets….