- District Attorney Sandra Doorley failed to stop for police on a traffic stop until she reached her home.
- When officers contacted her she told them she understood the law better than they did.
- Now, she’s released an apology and says that she’s disciplining herself along with several actions.
When people fail to stop for police it often ends badly for them. In the case of one District Attorney in New York, Sandra Doorley, it appears as though the court of public opinion will deal the harshest blow. After failing to stop for the police, she parked in her garage, got into an argument, and then went inside with nothing more than a traffic ticket for speeding.
An officer initially attempted to pull over D.A. Doorley for going 55 mph in a 35 mph zone. Instead of following the direction of the officer she ignored him and drove home. During that ride, she called the chief of police and reportedly asked him “Can you please tell him [the officer at her home] to leave me alone?”
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Bodycam footage from the traffic stop shows several officers speaking with Doorley as they attempt to understand the situation. “So why didn’t you just stop,” asks one officer. “Because I didn’t feel like stopping on Phillips road,” says Doorley. The officer responds that it’s “not your choice” before the D.A. says “I made it my choice” and then later telling him that “I understand the law better than you.”
Ultimately, after a near-twenty-minute exchange, the officer who initiated the stop simply gives Doorley a ticket and concludes the matter. As a result, the Rochester City Council has asked the state AG to investigate the stop. “This incident has led us to question her fitness to serve as District Attorney, and we believe an investigation by your office is warranted,” the Council said in a letter to the AG according to People.com.
In response, Doorley has released an apology video where she outlines both her reasoning during the stop and what she’s doing to make things ‘right.’ She blames her actions on having a stressful day but also says that she takes full responsibility for what happened.
“I’d just come from work,” she said in the apology. “I was dealing with three homicides that occurred on the weekend, I watched a video where an innocent cab driver was executed, and I was still reeling from a frightening medical concern that my husband received that afternoon.”
She added, “But we all have bad days and stress, and it was wrong for me to take it out on an officer who was just doing his job. If one of my assistant district attorneys had acted this way, I would’ve disciplined them. So I’m disciplining myself. I will take ethics training to remind myself that professionalism matters”
In addition, she’s pleaded guilty to the speeding ticket and will refer the matter to a different D.A.