Tampa police chief resigns after footage shows her flashing badge in golf cart traffic stop

After ten months as the top cop in Tampa, Police Chief Mary O'Connor has resigned amid an investigation into a traffic stop that occurred in Oldsmar. Body camera footage surfaced showing her flashing her badge to a Pinellas deputy and stating, "I'm hoping you'll just let us go tonight."

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[johnnygoumba]

Trying to beat a ticket $100
Using your badge and losing your job, priceless

[Benglator]

You can learn a lot about a person once they have power.

[jojojana]

That was her third chance not second. Her being reinstated after the assault in 1995 was her second chance.

[abeonthehill]

A cop fired for beating someone on a traffic stop, is reinstated and goes on to be the Chief !

[udkocqn]

Power doesn't change anyone. It just reveals who they are.

[DaveMorgansMartian]

My Dad was a cop (retired). This is the norm, and she would have gotten away with it before the body cam era. The only reason the officer gave her the citation was because he knew the body cam was on. It is a technology that is helping to curb this kind of culture.

[tulihwut]

She's not sorry because she truly feels guilty, she's sorry because she got caught.

[ScottBlockbuster]

She is just like every nurse saying they are a nurse before you even say anything to them 😂

[mondoenterprises]

Maybe she thought being corrupt was one of the perks of the job.

[mychannel]

The word is not betrayal, the word is *CORRUPTION.* Period. 😐

[glassontherocks]

If you want to see what kind of a person someone is give them some power.

[Dman_]

So you get forced to resign for flashing your badge but not for allowing your officers to inflict brutality on the public? What a world

[Shybairnsgetnowt]

What makes this worse is that the mayor can’t admit she made a mistake in hiring her! How was she ever allowed to rejoin the police after being arrested for assaulting a fellow officer? Some of the things that happen in this world truly blow my mind!

[anthonythorp]

There should be no second chance. They hold a powerful position and should be held to a high standard.

[presto]

It's amazing that in the age of bodycams, some officials still try to get special treatment.

[skepticalobserver]

I watched the bodycam video of this incident not knowing what it was about. The first thing I noticed was the lady in the passenger seat of that golf cart because of her condescending smile. I immediately thought that seemed very out of place for someone getting pulled over. She seemed almost happy about it. Then after she revealed herself it made sense. She knew she was gonna get to play the big shot. Gross.

[winniethepoohandeeyore]

She should have never been rehired..She was a poor choice and she showed it yet again

[gregphillipsel]

The minuscule things that they get in trouble for and the murderous things that they get away with

[Chevy]

Thank you to all the engineers and scientists who gave us these body cameras which are finally giving us some of the justice that has escaped over the years. ❤

[nowjamessays]

If you get fired over something at a police department, there should be no department jumping allowed. One and done