Developing tonight, Tampa's top cop is off the job. Former police Chief Mary O'Connor resigned effective today, after the mayor put her on administrative leave following a recording during a traffic stop. You're watching 10 Tampa Bay. I'm Courtney Robinson. And I'm Josh sidorowicz. Video from the Pinellas deputies body Cam right here shows that stop where O'Connor asks the deputy to let her and her husband go. As she says she is the chief of police, she flashes her badge to him. Tend to have a base Crawford live outside TBD headquarters here this evening.
Liz, you just spoke with the mayor. A few hours ago. Well, Josh, just to be clear, Mary O'Connor did not voluntarily resign. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor requested her resignation and as of 9:00 o'clock this morning, O'Connor was out. It all started with the now infamous body camera footage worn by a Pinellas County deputy. Is your camera on? What else? And the police chief in Tampa. Ohh. How you doing? I'm doing good. OK. I'm hoping that you just let us go tonight.
According to the city of Tampa's internal investigation, Mary O'Connor violated the Tampa Police Department's standard of conduct, including abuse of position or identification. You ever need anything called? OK, serious. Now, with less than nine months on the job, O'Connor is out. What does this situation like this do for morale at TPD? What I asked of them was to ensure that.
They focused on making sure that the 1400 men and women of the Tampa Police Department continue to provide those stellar services to our community and don't get distracted by this incident. Mayor Castor had faced criticism for appointing O'Connor earlier this year, some of which rooted back to an incident in 1995 when O'Connor was arrested as a rookie officer and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer. Do you regret your appointment of Mary O'Connor? I don't regret my appointment of Mary O'Connor. I gave her a second chance because I believe. That individuals deserve second chances, but really that's why the disappointment runs so deeply. Champa Councilman Bill Carlson was one of two council members in March who voted against O'Connor's appointment. But City Council was doing is repeating the concerns of the community, and we were asking the administration to do a more thorough national search and to really listen to the concerns the Community had. And unfortunately, she lobbied really hard for this particular vote to go through. The mayor now begins her second search for a police chief in less than a year.
Well, the mayor does not have a firm deadline for hiring that next chief. She did say the community will be involved in the process in Tampa. Liz Crawford, 10, Tampa Bay. And Mayor Castor has named assistant Chief Lee Burcaw as acting chief. Burcaw joined TPD in 1997. He's currently the deputy chief of operations. The department says he's known for crime reduction initiatives. He's worked big events, including the Super Bowl, the 2012 Republican National Convention. And the International Indian Film Academy Awards in 2014, also known as IFA O'Connor's resignation, does come less than five days after that body camera video surfaced. We have the full video and more details into the investigation on 10 tampabay.com..