It was 5:30 p.m. last Monday in Webster, N.Y., a Rochester suburb, when Police Officer Cameron Crisafulli noticed an S.U.V. being driven 20 miles per hour over the speed limit on Phillips Road.
Officer Crisafulli put on his lights and sirens, signaling to the driver to pull over. But the driver didn’t stop, steering the car into a residential neighborhood about a half mile up the road before pulling into the garage of a two-story white-clapboard house.
It was the home of Sandra Doorley, the Monroe County district attorney.
“Sorry, I’m the D.A. I was going 55 coming home from work,” Ms. Doorley said angrily, getting out of the car as Officer Crisafulli approached her garage. He reminded her that the speed limit on Phillips Road was 35 m.p.h. “I don’t really care,” she replied.
Footage of the encounter, recorded on Officer Crisafulli’s body camera and released Friday by the Webster Police Department, raised questions about whether Ms. Doorley had tried to use her office to avoid a traffic ticket. In the footage, Ms. Doorley can be heard using expletives, calling the officer vulgar names and repeatedly escalating the situation.
Another officer who arrived on the scene and identified himself as Officer Crisafulli’s supervisor told Ms. Doorley that by refusing to stop, she had broken another law, and that it was an arrestable offense. Ms. Doorley was not arrested.
The release of the footage led to a swift backlash, and residents of Rochester and beyond called for Ms. Doorley to face discipline.
