Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor has been placed on administrative leave after body camera footage taken from a traffic stop last month revealed she told a deputy she was “hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight” and flashed her badge.
O’Connor was a passenger in a golf cart, which was pulled over for driving on a roadway without a license plate tag. As the deputy explained why the couple was stopped, O’Connor asked if the deputy’s body camera was operating and then identified herself as the Tampa police chief.
“I’m hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight” O’Connor said before showing her badge to the deputy. O’Connor apologized to the deputy and then gave him her business card. “If you ever need anything, call me. Seriously,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor apologized for the incident in the city statement released Thursday.
Here's the actual bodycam video:
Photo: Getty Images