OLDSMAR, Fla. — Mayor Jane Castor stated Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor was placed on administrative leave after she was stopped by a Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy on Nov. 12.
Mayor Castor said Assistant Chief Lee Bercaw will serve as acting Chief during this time.
"Police Chief Mary O'Connor has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into a recent traffic stop. Assistant Chief Lee Bercaw is serving as acting Chief."
According to a spokesperson for the Mayor's office, the investigation shouldn't take more than a week.
Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor said she used "poor judgment" when she was stopped for operating a golf cart without a license plate in Oldsmar.
Tampa Police said Chief O'Connor was stopped while riding in the golf cart with her spouse. The incident was recorded on the Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy's body camera.
During the encounter, O'Connor asked the deputy if his camera was rolling before telling him she was the Tampa Police chief and showing the deputy her badge.
"I'm hoping you'll just let us go," O'Connor told the Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy.
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O'Connor also gave her business card to the deputy, saying, "If you ever need anything, call me."
O'Connor said she understood how the incident could be viewed as "inappropriate, but that was certainly not my intent," and said she "expressed great remorse to the Mayor, and I apologize to the residents of Tampa..."
Statement from Chief Mary O'Connor:
"It was poor judgment on our part to be driving a golf cart on a public roadway without the appropriate tags. 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.
I have expressed great remorse to the Mayor, and I apologize to the residents of Tampa who have a reasonable expectation of better judgment from their chief of police.
As someone who has dealt with, taken ownership of and grown from my past mistakes, I know that no one is above the law, including me."
ABC Action News talked to people about the chief's traffic stop on Davis Islands, a popular golf cart community.
"She of all people should know what the rules are that you're going to have a plate on there," Patty Geiger said. "I think the biggest thing for me was, I was kind of surprised, you didn't live in Tampa or even in the county? It's like, you don't even live in the county? I don't know where it goes from here. I think that her apology was the right thing to do. But the next step is, you know, what's going to happen?"
We took Geiger's question about residency to the city.
"Chief O’Connor is fulfilling the residency requirements of her position as she is leasing a condo in Tampa and a house in Pinellas County. Her husband and young daughter live primarily at the Pinellas county residence due to schooling. She resides at both the Tampa and Pinellas locations," Lauren Rozyla, Media Relations Manager, Marketing, and Communications for the City of Tampa said via e-mail.
"She messed up and that's the bottom line," Tom Charnas said. She shouldn't get fired over anything. She's a human being we all are."
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor also issued a statement on the incident that said:
"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 Police said O'Connor "voluntarily reached out to the Tampa Police Professional Standards Bureau" and asked for the "same discipline that any officer would receive for similar conduct."
