Bodycam footage captures DA calling cop an “a**hole” after traffic stop violation
‘I’ll take care of this because I’ll be prosecuting myself’, said Sandra Doorley, district attorney for Monroe County
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A New York district attorney was caught on officer body camera footage calling a cop an “a**hole” after being pulled over for speeding.
The incident happened on 22 April. Sandra Doorley, district attorney for Monroe County, was driving down Phillips Road in Webster, allegedly going 55mph in a 35mph zone.
An officer attempted to pull the woman over for speeding, but she evaded him, drove another mile to her residence and called the Webster police chief instead, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. Several officers responded to the address.
One officer immediately confronted the district attorney upon arrival and the two had a tense exchange. “I didn’t want to pull over”, DA Doorley said. “But you should know better right?” Officer Cameron Crisafulli responded, reminding her that evading an officer is an arrestable offence. “Now you made it a bigger deal than it needed to be”.
In the footage, the woman can be seen repeatedly ignoring the officer’s requests, swearing at him and calling the Webster police chief to get the officer to “leave me alone”. Much of the interaction happened in the garage of the woman’s home.
At one point the officer said, “What do you want us to do? Not do our job because it’s you?” Officers ultimately issued the district attorney a ticket. “I’ll take care of this because I’ll be prosecuting myself”, she responded.
Shortly after the incident, the DA issued the following statement: “I acknowledged that I was speeding and I accepted the ticket.
“By 1pm the following day, I pled guilty and sent the ticket to the Webster Town Court because I believe in accepting responsibility for my actions and had no intention of using my position to receive a benefit.”
Over the weekend, the Rochester City Council asked Letitia James, New York State attorney general, to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said DA Doorley has “undermined her ability to hold others accountable”. She referred the case to the state Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct.
On Sunday, Doorley issued a video apology. “Last Monday, I failed you and the standards that I hold myself to and for that I am so sorry”. The district attorney said that she’d had a bad day at work after dealing with three homicide cases and hearing news about her husband’s medical condition.
“But we all have bad days and stress. And it was wrong for me to take it out on an officer who was simply doing his job.”