By Bob Walsh
Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor and her
husband were recently pulled over by a Pinellas County deputy for
driving a golf cart without a license plate. O’Connor told him that she was the police chief in Tampa and said, "I’m
hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight." That’s when she pulled out
her badge and handed it to him.
Maty O'Connor is still the Chief of the Tampa, FLA police department. She is, however, on administrative leave.
It
seems that a few weeks ago she and her husband were cruising around in a
golf car with no license plates. The local S. O. stopped her and she
pulled the old "don't you know who I am" card, complete with body cam
footage.
The incident
happened on the evening of November 13. The powers that be have been
trying very, very hard to bury the body cam footage but a local
fishwrapper managed to jar it loose with a barrage of public records act
requests.
The Chief
asked for a freebie, very specifically. And she got it. The whole
situation was completely ignored for weeks but clearly somebody talked
to somebody. The Sheriff initially said that they couldn't find the
body cam footage. It was, however, released in the evening yesterday.
The
mayor, Jane Castor, caught some heat for hiring O'Connor in the first
place. She had previously been a Tampa P. D. cop. She was arrested,
fired, reinstated, and then resigned in 2016. She then came back as the
Chief of Police. She assaulted a deputy when she was out with her
husband and her husband was arrested for DUI. She then tried to break
out of the back of the patrol car they were detained in. Both she and
her husband Keith were Tamp cops at the time. They were both thrown off
the force but she was later reinstated.
Looks
like the old home-girl hookup may bite the mayor in the ass. Maybe.
From the little bit I have managed to infer from news articles on the
subject the Chief works for the mayor and not the council or the city
manager. Maybe they will both just hang tough.
2 comments:
Ok, so where is a violation? The deputy could have simply given the ticket.
Several years ago, I was stopped by the State Police in Louisiana for speeding. I placed both hands on the steering wheel and when the Trooper asked for my DL and Insurance, I identified myself as a police officer and told him I was wearing a gun. I'm always cautious and don't won't to be digging for my DL which is near my sidearm. He was courteous and checked my DL and police ID then let me go but not before thanking me for being identifying myself.
I never heard the Tampa Chief say, "Don't you know who I am?" In fact, she never directly asked or told the deputy to let her go. Showing your badge and ID is a good safety measure especially if you are armed.
Post a Comment