Video: 'I'm Hoping You Will Let Us Go,' Tampa PD Chief Tells Deputy

TAMPA, FL — Tampa's police chief is apologizing for her behavior after she and her husband were pulled over by a Pinellas County sheriff's deputy Nov. 12 while riding in a golf cart outside their Oldsmar golfing community.

According to a news release issued by the Tampa Police Department, Chief Mary O'Connor, 52, and her husband, Keith O'Connor, were stopped by a sheriff's deputy after driving their golf cart to a restaurant outside the East Lake Woodlands golf and country club community in Oldsmar where the O'Connors live.

In the video, Pinellas County sheriff's Deputy Larry Jacoby can be heard telling the O'Connors he pulled them over because the golf cart had no tag, which is required to drive golf carts outside the confines of the golf community.

O'Connor was not on duty at the time. Her husband, a retired assistant police chief for Tampa and now the city's neighborhood enhancement manager, was driving the golf cart.

The Nov. 12 traffic stop was recorded on the deputy's body-worn camera. The city of Tampa has released the video in which O'Connor is heard telling the deputy who she is and saying she hopes he'll overlook the minor traffic infraction.

In the video, Keith O'Connor explained to the deputy that they had gone to the East Lake Woodlands Country Club for dinner but it was closed so they drove the golf cart to a nearby Greek restaurant outside the neighborhood. He said it was the first time they'd ever taken the golf cart out of the neighborhood.

In the video, the police chief asked Jacoby if his body-worn camera was on. When he said it was, she told him she was the Tampa police chief and displayed her badge, saying, "I'm hoping you will let us go."

After confirming that the couple was on their way back to their neighborhood, Jacoby said, "No worries. We've had a lot of trouble with golf carts around here."

O'Connor then handed Jacoby her business card and stated, "If you ever need anything ... serious."

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"It was poor judgment on our part to be driving a golf cart on a public roadway without the appropriate tags," O'Connor said in a statement. "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," O'Connor said. "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."

Referring to her controversial 1995 felony arrest after getting pulled over by a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy while she was a rookie Tampa police officer, O'Connor said, "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."

Then 24 years old, O'Connor was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, obstruction and disorderly intoxication after she struck a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy and kicked the windows of a patrol car.

She ultimately pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and obstruction. She was fired but won her job back a year later and continued working for the department for 22 years, rising to the rank of assistant chief of operation before retiring in 2016.

When questioned about the arrest during her confirmation as police chief in March, O'Connor chalked it up to immaturity and poor decision-making, adding that being given a second chance to prove herself is what shaped her into the kind of leader she is today — one that understands that humans are flawed and make mistakes but can redeem themselves.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who championed and ultimately approved the hiring of O'Connor as police chief following former Chief Brian Dugan's resignation, said there will be an internal review into O'Connor's actions, which the city said is now underway.

"We hold everyone accountable, no matter their position, and this behavior was
unacceptable," Castor said. "Chief O'Connor will go through the due process and face appropriate discipline."

O'Connor said she has voluntarily reached out to the Tampa Police Professional Standards Bureau asking to receive the same discipline that any officer would receive for similar conduct.

Due to O'Connor's previous arrest while a rookie officer, O'Connor has had her share of detractors since Castor first appointed her top cop of Tampa in February.

Both the Tampa City Council and the public said they were caught off guard on Jan. 26 when Castor's office announced that the mayor had narrowed the field of candidates to replace Dugan to three: O'Connor, interim Tampa Police Chief Butch Delgado and Cherise Gause, an assistant chief with the Miami Police Department.

Castor followed up two weeks later with an announcement on Feb. 8 that she'd named O'Connor police chief.

Members of the Black and Hispanic community spoke out against Castor's choice.

Delgado, who served as assistant police chief before Dugan left office, was the heir apparent to fill Dugan's shoes after being hand-picked by Dugan to assume the role of interim police chief.

Delgado had earned the admiration and respect of both the Black and Hispanic communities during his long tenure with the Tampa Police Department.

Among those questioning Castor's choice for police chief was Yvette Lewis, president of the Hillsborough branch of the NAACP.

"Could someone please question the good old boy network at TPD and ask them how they allow a person to advance after receiving a battery on a police officer?" Lewis asked during the March confirmation hearing. “This process was flawed and needs to start over in order to build trust in the community."

Members of the city council also had concerns about the process that led to O'Connor's appointment as chief.

The city's charter requires the city council to confirm the appointment. However, the first chance the council had to meet and interview O'Connor was in March, a month after Castor announced O'Connor's appointment as police chief.

While Councilman Bill Carlson said he believed O'Connor was qualified to lead the department's 1,000 sworn law enforcement officers and more than 350 civilian staff members, he thought the process have been subverted.

"It's not just the process," Carlson said during O'Connor's March confirmation. "This is about democracy. Democracy is at risk in this city and most of the calls I'm getting are not about the candidate, it's about protecting democracy in this city."