TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Mayor Jane Castor requested and received the resignation of Police Chief Mary O’Connor.

The move comes after an Internal Affairs investigation into a recent traffic stop involving O’Connor. 

O’Connor was placed on administrative leave Friday by Castor. 

On Nov. 12, O’Connor and her husband were stopped by a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputy while riding in a golf cart without a license plate outside of a residential area in Oldsmar. The incident was recorded on the deputy’s body-worn camera and can be viewed below. It was released Thursday by the police department.

During the exchange, O’Connor told the deputy she was Tampa’s police chief, showed identification and said “I’m hoping you will let us go tonight.”

The deputy eventually let them leave the scene.

The internal review found O’Connor violated regulations on standards of conduct and “abuse of position or identification.”

In a statement, O’Connor said: “It was poor judgment on our part to be driving a golf cart on a public roadway without the appropriate tags.

“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.”

Assistant Chief Lee Bercaw, a 25-year veteran of the department, will serve as acting chief while a comprehensive national search is conducted.

The reaction was immediate out of City Hall last week

Councilman Bill Carlson was one of two on the council against confirming O’Connor as chief in the first place. He cited concerns with not only the process but also charges she faced as a rookie cop when she pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and obstruction.

“When you hand your business card and you say, ‘If you need something in Tampa let me know,’ well the message that sends to the residents of Tampa is that some people get special treatment in Tampa,” Carlson said.

On Nov. 12, Chief Mary O’Connor and her spouse were stopped by a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputy while riding in a golf cart without a license plate outside of a residential area in Oldsmar. The incident was recorded on the Pinellas SO deputy’s body worn camera and can be viewed here.

O’Connor, 51, was named chief in February.

She served the Tampa Police Department for 22 years, rising to the rank of assistant chief before retiring in 2016.

Since then, O’Connor had spent time extensively traveling the country, teaching and providing subject matter expertise and training to law enforcement and criminal justice executives.

She also served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.