New York DA Sandra Doorley apologizes after body cam captures tense exchange with officer
A Rochester-area district attorney issued a public apology Monday after a video of her heated traffic stop argument went viral.
Sandra Doorley, elected as Monroe County District Attorney in 2011, was clocked on April 22 going 55 mph in a 35 mph zone. She did not pull over immediately and instead addressed the police officer when she arrived at home. Initially, she acknowledged there was friction during the encounter, as she told the Democrat & Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network.
But the officer's body worn camera footage showed more than friction. Doorley called the officer a bad name, said she did not care about going 20 mph over the speed limit and repeatedly mentioned that she was the DA.
Doorley has pleaded guilty to the speeding ticket, is cooperating with investigations into the matter and said she would discipline herself as she would if it were someone else in her office.
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'I understand the law better than you': Body camera video shows tense exchange
Body camera footage captured Doorley's exchange with officer Cameron Crisafulli at her home in Webster, New York, outside of Rochester.
She explained to the D&C that she had called Webster Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeier from her car while an officer tailed her with his lights on. She said she wanted the chief to tell the officer who she was so he would know there was no possible danger to him after the stop since she did not stop immediately.
Doorley had pulled into her garage when officer Crisafulli steps out of his car and approaches her at the top of the video.
She calls Kohlmeier again before handing the phone to Crisafulli and storming off into the garage, saying "go away!"
Crisafulli gets frustrated, asking Doorley to stay outside for the traffic stop.
"I understand the law better than you," she tells him as he calls for a supervisor.
Watch the full video of the exchange. Warning: Video contains explicit language.
As the argument continues, he asks, “What is the reason you’re, you're so against what I’m doing? I’m doing my job. You say you’re a DA?”
She replies, “I’m the DA … I’m the DA of Monroe County.”
"I just don't understand the hostility towards me. I'm doing my job," Crisafulli says.
Doorley went on to call the officer a bad name.
Then Doorley asks Crisafulli if he knows what she has been dealing with all day and then tells him: three homicides in the city of Rochester.
She asks, “Do you think I really care if I was going 20 miles over the speed limit?"
At the end of the 26-minute video from Crisafulli's body-cam, Doorley, visibly more calm, accepts the traffic ticket.
New York DA Sandra Doorley issues apology video
As the D&C reported, the video garnered international attention, resulting in calls for her resignation and a request from New York Governor Kathy Hochul that Doorley's actions be investigated by a prosecutorial misconduct commission.
Monday morning, a week after the traffic stop, Doorley issued an apology video.
"Last Monday I failed you and the standards that I hold myself to," Doorley says at the outset of the 30-second video. "For that I am sorry. What I did was wrong and I take full responsibility."
She said she is taking steps to hold herself accountable, including referring the incident to a district attorney from another county for review.
Doorley explained she had a particularly difficult day with work and received concerning medical news from her husband.
Still, Doorley said, all people have stresses and what precipitated the incident with the officer does not stand as an excuse. "I've been humbled by my own stupidity and I am fully to blame," she said.
Contributing: Robert Bell; Rochester Democrat and Chronicle