The police chief of Tampa, Florida, has resigned after it emerged that she used her position to dodge a ticket for using her golf cart on the street. Body-cam video shows Mary O’Connor and her husband being stopped last month by a Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy near the gated community where they live. She identified herself, flashed her badge and told the deputy: “I’m hoping you’ll just let us go tonight.”
The mayor of Tampa said on Monday that the police chief broke ethics rules. Mayor Castor’s statement on Monday said that the police chief was expected to lead by example and be held to “high standards for ethical and professional behaviour.” “That clearly did not happen in this case,” she said calling it “unacceptable for any public employee, and especially the city’s top law enforcement leader, to ask for special treatment because of their position.”
Mrs O’Connor was sworn into office in March after serving for 22 years on the city’s police force. In 1995 she was fired as an officer after being arrested for attacking deputies during a traffic stop before being re-hired the following year.
Article URL : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-63868991