The district attorney in upstate New York is under investigation. Police body camera video showed her getting into a violent confrontation with the officer who stopped her for speeding, calling him a “f**k” and demanding he “leave her alone.”
Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Dawley apologized on Monday, a day after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul referred the April 22 incident to the state Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct.
“What I did was wrong. There are no excuses,” Dooley said in his apology. “I take full responsibility for my actions.”
Body camera footage obtained by NBC affiliate WHEC in Rochester shows the interaction began when a Webster police officer pulled into the garage where Doley had just parked.
The officer, identified by the Democrat and Chronicle as Cameron Crisafulli, asked Dooley why he didn't stop the car even though he had his lights and siren on.
She admitted to going 55 mph in a 35 mph zone. Later in her 26-minute video, she claimed there were other people on the road, and she said she didn't think the man was trying to pull her over. “I was right behind you,” the officer replied.
Throughout the video, Dooley did not cooperate with requests to remain in front of the garage. Instead, she walked around the garage and at one point she tried to enter the house.
“Ma’am, please don’t go in,” Crisafulli said. “Ma'am, please go outside. This place is closed to traffic, so you cannot enter without permission.”
“I understand the law better than you. Get out of my house,” she retorted.
Dawley appeared upset and repeatedly bragged, “I'm the prosecutor of Monroe County,” and repeatedly told him to “leave me alone.” When told that she was speeding, she replied, “She doesn't really care.”
Dooley called Webster Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeyer and said he would call Crisafulli. Mr. Crisafulli then called a supervisor to the scene.
“I don't understand the hostility towards me. I'm just doing my job,” Crisafulli said. she retorted: “You're one hell of a person. I'm the Monroe County prosecutor.”
“Just give me a traffic ticket and I'll be fine. I'll be the one filing the charges. Go ahead,” she said at one point.
“We're having a really bad day. We're being chased by murders all over the city,” she said.
A supervisor eventually came to the house and spoke with Dooley, and Crisafulli ended up giving her a speeding ticket.
He held it out to her and she just nodded and said, “I'm sorry.”
“I'm sorry you had a bad day and it turned out the way it did. I respect what you're doing. Have a nice day,” the officer responded.
apology and investigation
Hochu said in a statement Sunday that Dooley's actions “contrary to his responsibilities as district attorney and undermine his ability to hold others accountable for violations of the law.”
As reported by WHEC, Dooley released an apology video on Monday, saying, “Last Monday, I betrayed the standards you and I are supposed to live up to. And for that, I am truly sorry.”
He added: “I fell short of the values I have held throughout my 33-year career. I did not treat this police officer with the respect he deserved. All police officers deserve respect. ” he added.
She said she came home from work that day and was dealing with three murders that had occurred the previous weekend.
”“I was still reeling from the scary medical concerns my husband had that afternoon,” she explained, “but we all have bad days and stress, and I just wanted to work. It was a mistake to criticize the police officer. I have apologized to him before, and I will say it again.”
She said she intended to plead guilty to the speeding ticket and pay the fine, and was referring the matter to another district attorney's office for review. She said she would also self-report the matter to the Grievance Committee.
“If one of my assistant district attorneys had acted like this, I would have disciplined them. So I'm going to discipline myself. I'm going to remind myself that professionalism is important. “I'm going to go through ethics training to get my point across,” she said. “I am humbled by my own folly and take full responsibility. Please bear with me as I make this right.”
NBC News has reached out to Mr. Dawley's office and the Webster Police Department for comment.