On Monday morning around 6 a.m., Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley issued a public apology video after viral bodycam footage was released showing her refusing to pull over for a routine traffic stop in Webster, New York, on April 22. Instead of stopping for the police officer, the DA, a former Democrat who switched to the GOP in 2015, drove home and parked in her garage. The body camera footage released by the Webster Police Department revealed Doorley's uncooperative, entitled, and defiant behavior during the incident.
On Tuesday, Doorley admitted guilt in municipal court and paid a fine for speeding.
In the apology video Doorley opens by apologizing and saying she won't make excuses:
Last Monday, I failed you and the standards that I hold myself to, and for that I am sorry. What I did was wrong, no excuses, I take full responsibility for my actions. I fell short of the values I've held for my entire 33-year career. I didn't treat this officer with the respect that he deserved, all police officers deserve respect. I am truly and sincerely sorry.
But then she seems to make excuses, telling viewers how hard her job is and other mitigating factors, saying:
I had just come from work, I was dealing with 3 homicides that occurred over 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. 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.
NEW - Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley issued a video apology Monday morning following a viral confrontation with a Webster Police Officer in which she refused to pull over for the officer stating he should have known better than to pull over a black SUV.
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) April 29, 2024
In the… pic.twitter.com/YmQdGMprGb
The incident prompted all nine members of the Rochester City Council to request an investigation by New York District Attorney Letitia James' office.
Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that she has referred the incident for investigation to a prosecutorial misconduct committee:
District attorneys are responsible for prosecuting criminal and traffic offenses, and must perform their duties with the highest ethical standards. I referred the Monroe County District attorney to the Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct following the release of police bodycam footage showing her claiming she is above the law, attempting to use her public office to evade responsibility, and acting unprofessionally towards a police officer simply trying to do his job. In doing so, she was in contravention of her responsibility as a District Attorney and undermined her ability to hold others accountable for her violating the law.
In the apology video, Doorley claims she will be "disciplining herself," and is self-reporting the incident for investigation along with taking voluntary ethics training courses. She said:
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. I’ve been humbled by my own stupidity and I am fully to blame. I will make this right.
For much of the public, self-imposed ethics training is too little too late, with continued demands for Doorley's resignation.
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