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‘I Understand the Law Better Than You’

In bodycam footage of the exchange, District Attorney Sandra Doorley admitted to going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit and said, “I don’t really care”

<p>USATNSYNDICATION</p> Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley

USATNSYNDICATION

Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley

A New York district attorney was caught speeding and subsequently failed to stop for authorities before having a heated interaction with the officer who attempted to pull her over.

Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley returned home on April 22 following the attempted traffic stop in Webster, N.Y., and then repeatedly refused to comply with the officer’s commands when he arrived at her house, bodycam footage of the exchange showed.

In the footage, which the Webster Police Department provided to local outlet WHAM-TV, she mentioned her position as district attorney several times, swore at the officer and called Webster Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeier on her cellphone, telling him: “Can you please tell him [the officer at her home] to leave me alone?”

After arriving at her home and exiting her car, Doorley, who could be seen standing inside of her garage, told the officer, “I’m sorry. I’m the D.A. I was going 55 coming from work.”

Pointing out the reason for the traffic stop, the officer, who was standing outside of the garage, told Doorley, “55 in a 35,” and she responded, “I don’t really care.”

<p>Webster Police Department</p> Sandra Doorley during her April 22 traffic stop<p>Webster Police Department</p> Sandra Doorley during her April 22 traffic stop

Webster Police Department

Sandra Doorley during her April 22 traffic stop

The officer then asked her to “come over here,” telling her, “This is on a traffic stop, ma’am.”

Visibly irritated, Doorley refused to comply, instead telling the officer to call Chief Kohlmeier “right now.”

“I’m telling you why I stopped you. You didn’t stop at all. Did you not hear my lights or sirens or anything?” the officer asked, and Doorley claimed she did not.

She then seemingly reached Chief Kohlmeier on her phone, asking him to tell the officer to “leave me alone,” and continued to refuse the officer’s requests to comply with procedure, including providing her identification.

Elsewhere in the tense exchange, Doorley also called the officer an “a——” and told him, “I understand the law better than you,” and “Get out of my f—— house.”

Later, after more officers arrived on the scene, she apologized for her behavior, telling them, “I’ve had a really bad day.”

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In a statement shared with local outlets WHAM-TV, WHEC-TV and WIVB-TV, Doorley said she called Chief Kohlmeier “to inform him that I was not a threat and that I would speak to the officer at my house down the street.”

In the same statement, she also acknowledged that she was speeding and pleaded guilty to the ticket the following day, April 23, “because I believe in accepting responsibility for my actions and had no intention of using my position to receive a benefit.”

“Nobody, including your District Attorney, is above the rule of law, even traffic laws,” she said in the statement. “Anybody who knows me understands without a doubt that I have dedicated my entire 33-year career to the safety of this community. My work to ensure the safety and respect of law enforcement is well proven time and time again. I stand by my work and stand by my commitment to the public safety of Monroe County.”

Doorley’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

On Saturday, April 27, the Rochester City Council asked Letitia James, the attorney general for the state of New York, to investigate Doorley’s conduct during the traffic stop, WHEC-TV reported.

In a letter obtained by the outlet, all nine members of council state that her behavior warrants “a thorough investigation,” noting that “an investigation will help ensure accountability and demonstrate that no one, regardless of their position, is above the law.”

“Recent body camera footage, shared by the Webster Police Department, has raised significant concerns regarding Ms. Doorley’s behavior during a traffic stop in Webster, New York,” the letter says, per WHEC-TV. “This incident has led us to question her fitness to serve as District Attorney, and we believe an investigation by your office is warranted.”

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