A hostile upstate New York district attorney who was caught on body camera footage after trying to pull a police officer over for speeding may soon have more to worry about than local authorities.
The Rochester City Council wants a national investigation into Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Dawley’s belligerent conduct and sent a letter to Attorney General Letitia James on Saturday asking her to investigate the situation.
“Recent body camera footage shared by the Webster Police Department raises serious concerns about Mr. Dawley’s actions during a traffic stop in Webster, New York,” the letter, signed by all nine City Council members, said. It’s dark.
“This incident has led us to question her suitability to serve as district attorney, and we believe that an investigation by your office is warranted.”
Lawmakers said public servants are “held to the highest standards of ethics, responsibility and respect for the law” and that Dooley’s actions “appear to violate these standards.”
“Such conduct undermines the credibility and integrity of our nation’s justice system and undermines public trust,” they wrote.
Doorley admitted Monday that he was driving 55 mph in a 55 mph zone on Phillips Road in Webster, less than half a mile from his neighborhood. Footage of the embarrassing exchange showed him openly telling the officer: “I don’t care.” She followed her home.
They told her she should have stopped when flashing lights from behind alerted her.
“Once you realize the intention, [police car] They tried to stop me, so I called Chief Webster and told him I was not a threat and that I was going to speak to the officers at my home down the street,” she said in a statement Thursday. mentioned in.
Officers followed her home and issued Doorley a ticket, which she received. The prosecutor’s office found her guilty in district court on Tuesday. “I believe I accept responsibility for my actions and did not intend to use my position to gain advantage.”
But body camera footage released Friday by Webster police shows a tense exchange between Doley and an officer in his driveway, in which the district attorney appears to be doing just that.
When the officer told her she had a 55 out of 35, she told him, “I don’t really care.”
She got on the phone and called Webster Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeyer and asked, “Can you please tell him to leave me alone?”
Dooley refused to come outside the garage to speak with officers. She handed the officer her phone to speak to the chief, and she told him to “leave immediately.”
An officer can be heard over the phone explaining what happened.
She then burst into the house against the officers’ orders.
When the man explained he was trying to police traffic, the woman retorted, “I know the law better,” the video shows.
“Why are you so hostile to me? I’m doing my job. Are you saying you’re a prosecutor?” the officer asks at one point.
“I’m the DA,” she retorted emphatically, taking her badge from her car and calling him “the no-hole.”
Richard C. Lewis, president of the New York State Bar Association, said James is the right person to investigate the Dawley case.
“It is inappropriate in any way for any public official to assume any rights and use that position to obtain favorable treatment,” Lewis told the Post.
Dooley did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.
