Tampa’s Police Chief Asked a cop for a Favor. What are the Ethics of That?
After being caught on body cam video footage used her badge to avoid a minor traffic violation in a neighboring jurastiction, Chief Mary O’Connor resigned her position at request of her boss after the incident became a national embarrassment.
“It’s unfair to the public who would not be able to flash a badge to get out of, frankly, a petty offense,” said John Pelissero, senior scholar in government ethics at Santa Clara University.
“The perception is that police have such discretion they can decide as a matter of so-called professional courtesy to not apply the rules to another member of law enforcement,” said Pelissero.
John Pelissero, senior scholar, government ethics, quoted by Tampa Bay Times.
Dec 8, 2022