Retired officer says cops show their badges when being stopped all the time to get off: 'Not that big of a deal'
A very strange interview surfaced on CNN Sunday, in which a former police sergeant explained that the Tampa, Florida police chief, who asked to be let off after being pulled over for driving a golf cart on city streets without a license plate.
Speaking to Pamela Brown, Sgt. Cheryl Dorsey, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department, explained that what happened in Florida happens all the time.
Police Chief Mary O’Connor was outed due to body camera footage that showed her explaining she was a police chief. She then asked, “I’m hoping you’ll just let us go tonight.”
According to Dorsey, cops usually just hand over their badges and the request to let them go is simply understood. Where O'Connor made her mistake, she explained, was by asking to be let off on camera.
"Listen, it is really not that big of a deal," Dorsey said dismissing the incident. "She didn't do anything that every police officer hasn't done. And let's not pretend that sexism just only occurs in the rank and file. I mean, there have been at least six female police chiefs who have been run out on the rails since 2020 for one reason or another. And so listen, it is a catch-22. If she hadn't I.D.'d herself, someone would have said why didn't the chief I.D. herself? We do that expecting professional courtesy like when you run into your colleagues so I think in this case chief O'Connor doesn't have her cart connected to the right horse. One of the city council members didn't want her selected anyway. And so now, because it is a patriarchal society, they'll decide what kind of discipline they'll mete out. It would be a reprimand, it could be a paper penalty or days after and/or termination."
Dorsey's cavalier attitude essentially admitted that officers get away with committing crimes or violations by simply showing a badge and that it is done all the time. It comes after years of growing concern that officers have too little accountability and live life above the law.
The Innocence Project penned a column noting that there are many cases in which investigators are incentivized for the wrong thing when trying to score quick convictions by district attorneys. The Brookings Institute looked into the lack of police accountability, focusing on larger crimes, but mentioned that bad-acting cops are allowed to stick around. The question is whether lower-level infractions ultimately lead to a belief that an officer is above the law when it comes to larger crimes like beating suspect, rough rides, and opening fire without concern or consequence.
See the interview below:
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