News10NBC Investigates: Inside the findings against DA Sandra Doorley
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The first independent report has been issued following an investigation into Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley’s behavior during a traffic stop in Webster.
That stop has been seen millions of times around the world.
The county’s Office of Public Integrity issued a scathing report into Doorley’s actions Monday.
Read the report here:
News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke spoke with the director about the findings. She’s the only reporter with whom Doorley has sat down for an interview.
EXCLUSIVE: DA Sandra Doorley says she has no good reason for why she didn’t pull over for police
Doorley was not interviewed as part of the OPI’s investigating into the traffic stop that has now been seen by millions of people across the world. But some of her comments to News10NBC were included in the report.
Almost as soon as this bodyworn camera video was released, the OPI was flooded with complaints about Doorley’s behavior and actions.
“We received calls to our phone, we received emails, we received calls to the whistleblower hotline, we received calls from outside of the state, we received emails from outside of the country,” said Janson McNair, director of the OPI.
The OPI interviewed every police officer who was at or called to the district attorney’s driveway that day. It pulled surveillance video that shows her leaving work to ensure the timeline was correct and it talked with those managing the SUV she was in at the time.
“We found that there were violations of the ethics code,” McNair said.
He says one of those was that the DA “attempted to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for herself.”
During Lewke’s interview, she directly asked Doorley why she called the police chief instead of just pulling over.
Jennifer Lewke, News10NBC investigative reporter: “You were trying to get out of the ticket?
Sandra Doorley, Monroe County district attorney: “At that point, I wanted the officer to know that I was not a threat and I’m sorry for that.”
Lewke: “Why not just pull over and tell him you’re not a threat?”
Doorley: “I don’t have a good answer for that. I made a mistake.”
The Webster Police chief, Dennis Kohlmeier, remembers it differently. He told OPI investigators that the first time Doorley called him, she said, “Tell you’re (expletive) officer to stop following me.”
In addition to the other ethics violations, the OPI also found that Doorley failed to report that she had been ticketed in a county-owned SUB.
Lewke: “And so, what happens from here?”
McNair: “Again, we’re an investigative body. We have no disciplinary function in this office. So, we complete our findings and we turn them over to the proper entities.”
The other ethics agencies don’t have the ability to discipline either.
What about the violation of the take-home car rules?
Lewke: “In the past, to our knowledge, how have other department heads handled vehicle use violations?”
McNair: “It could range. The first violation, it could be something as simple as verbal counseling. It could be something as advanced as removal of the vehicle.”
This report is the first of three or four to come out, as different local and state agencies are investigating.
Lewke: “What do you hope the public takes away from this?”
McNair: “We wanted to make sure that we’re thorough. We did a thorough investigation. I hope the public sees that we were thorough and transparent. That’s why we released the entire investigative report.”
In the end, none of the handful of local and state agencies investigating have the ability to actually discipline Doorley. The only person who does is Gov. Kathy Hochul. She did direct one of the state agencies to launch an investigation, but she has never removed a public official and the chances she would are slim.
But at least with all of these investigations, there is a public record of what happened, who knew what, and when.