Florida police chief who flashed badge in golf cart resigns

The police chief of Tampa, Florida, who flashed her badge to get out of a stop for traveling in a golf cart without a license plate has resigned, according to a statement released on Monday.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor asked former police chief Mary O Connor to resign after an investigation into the Nov. 12 incident in Oldsmar, northwest of Tampa, that was captured on a deputy body camera of a Pinellas County Sheriff.

O Connor, who was appointed police chief in February, was a passenger in a golf cart driven by her husband that night, police said in a statement.

The body camera video shows O Connor ask the deputy whether his body camera is on, and when he responds that it is, I m the police chief in Tampa. I am doing good. O Connor says she hopes that you'll let us go tonight, and she opens her badge case and hands it over to her husband, the video shows. O'Connor said in a statement that it was the first time that the couple left the golf-cart friendly community, where they own a property, and that it was poor judgment to be driving it on a public roadway without appropriate tags.

O Connor offered to pay any fines and apologized to the deputy. She was placed on administrative leave until she resigned Monday.

Castor, who served as Tampa's police chief from 2009 to 2015, said he was not only responsible for abide by and enforce those standards, but also to lead by example.

It is unacceptable for a public employee, especially the city's top law enforcement leader, to ask for special treatment because of their position. Castor said that public trust in Tampa's police department is critical to our success as a city and community.

Assistant Chief Lee Bercaw will take over as acting chief while a comprehensive national search is conducted, according to the statement.