At 5:30 p.m. last Monday in Webster, N.Y., a Rochester suburb, Police Officer Cameron Crisafulli observed an S.U.V. speeding 20 miles per hour over the limit on Phillips Road.
Officer Crisafulli activated his lights and sirens, signaling the driver to pull over. However, the driver didn’t comply, steering into a nearby residential neighborhood and pulling into the garage of a two-story white-clapboard house, which happened to be the residence of Sandra Doorley, the Monroe County district attorney.
Angrily, Ms. Doorley exited the vehicle as Officer Crisafulli approached her garage. She explained, “Sorry, I’m the D.A. I was going 55 coming home from work,” disregarding the speed limit of 35 m.p.h. on Phillips Road.
The encounter, captured on Officer Crisafulli’s body camera and released by the Webster Police Department, raised concerns regarding potential misuse of authority to evade a traffic violation. Ms. Doorley can be heard in the footage using expletives, insulting the officer, and escalating the situation.
Another officer, identified as Officer Crisafulli’s supervisor, informed Ms. Doorley that her failure to stop constituted another offense, arrestable in nature, though no arrest was made.
Following the video’s release, there was swift public condemnation, with calls for disciplinary action against Ms. Doorley. Governor Kathy Hochul reported the incident to the State Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct, stating that the footage displayed Ms. Doorley’s belief of being above the law and attempting to evade accountability through her official position.
Local advocacy group Save Rochester initiated a petition for Ms. Doorley’s removal from office and demanded an investigation. At subsequent protests, demonstrators called for her disbarment, linking her behavior to white privilege.
Ms. Doorley later apologized in a video, admitting her wrongdoing and attributing her actions to stress from recent homicides in Rochester. She committed to paying the speeding fine, referring the incident to an external district attorney for review, and undertaking ethics training.
During the encounter, Ms. Doorley repeatedly asserted her identity as the district attorney, suggesting that any traffic ticket issued to her would be prosecuted by herself.
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