The mayor of Surfside, Florida, voiced his criticism of the police officer who pulled over Tom Brady’s ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen.
“It dismayed me. I as the mayor want our police force to stand up and say, ‘I’m here to protect you,’” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett tells Inside Edition.
Last Wednesday, Bündchen was pulled over and she tearfully told the officer that she was trying to get away from photographers she said were stalking her.
The officer can be heard in bodycam footage telling the 43-year-old model, “I can’t prevent them from doing their job which is to take pictures.
Burkett says in his opinion, the officer should have done more to help the mother of two.
“When someone is in distress and frightened, the last thing you want to do is tell them there’s nothing you can do about it,” Burkett says. “I would have preferred him to reassure her and tell her that she’s going to be safe, she’s going to be okay and they’re going to take care of things.”
Surfside’s police chief Henry Doce told CBS News the situation could have been handled differently.
“I understand what the mayor is saying, but I also understand that was a fluid situation where the officer really wasn’t understanding everything,” Doce told CBS News. “I think we could have been much more empathetic at that moment.”
Doce told the outlet that the officer spoke to the person Bundchen alleged was following her and told him to move on. Doce also told CBS News that having Surfside is new to having paparazzi so officers are being told to be more vigilant and speak with them.