PALM BAY, Fla. – A Melbourne police officer, who is currently the subject of an internal investigation after being pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence, recently received a traffic citation for speeding in Palm Bay, body camera video reveals.
News 6 received the video from Palm Bay police Friday, but the time stamp shows the traffic stop occurred on Thursday, Feb. 3.
In the video, Peter Dolci, the Melbourne officer, is behind the wheel of a white SUV. A child is seen in the seat next to him.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
The Palm Bay officer asks Dolci if he knows why he is being pulled over. Dolci is seen shaking his head, “No,” in the video.
“Do you have any idea what the speed limit is out here?” the Palm Bay officer asks.
“Forty-five (mph),” Dolci responds.
The officer then asks if Dolci knows how fast he was going.
“About 54 (mph),” Dolci responds.
“No, 71 mph in a 45 mph zone,” the officer said.
Dolci can be heard questioning whether it could have been the car coming behind him that was speeding, but the Palm Bay officer said, “It was absolutely your car,” prompting Dolci to shrug.
The officer questions Dolci on his driving record, asking if he had been pulled over at all recently.
“Yeah,” Dolci said, appearing to smirk. “Couple weeks ago.”
Dolci then asks the officer if he recognizes him, but the officer said he does not.
The officer asks Dolci what he was pulled over for, but the Melbourne officer’s response cannot be made out. The Palm Bay officer then asks whether Dolci had been found at fault for any crashes.
“At work,” Dolci said before adding that he’s a “Melbourne cop.”
The Palm Bay officer asks if he has any identification to verify Dolci is an officer.
“No, they took it from me,” Dolci responds.
After that, the Palm Bay officer returns to his cruiser. The audio in the video cuts out around 5:30 into the more than 12-minute video and does not return. It is not clear why there is no audio.
In the video, Dolci can be seen receiving a ticket and speaking further with the Palm Bay officer before the officer returns to his cruiser and the video ends.
News 6 reached out to Melbourne police for comment on this most recent traffic stop involving Dolci.
“I cannot comment, nor can any other member of the department, since this newest incident with Ofc. Dolci is now also a formal personnel matter,” said Deputy Chief David Waltemeyer in an email. “However, I can now tell you that Ofc. Dolci’s police powers have been suspended and he has been placed on administrative leave. This action was taken on January 28, 2022 and remains in effect.”
Dolci was previously pulled over on Jan. 20, also by a Palm Bay officer. Leading up to that stop, the officer who pulled Dolci over said he observed the Melbourne officer speeding and swerving.
Dolci claimed he was speeding because he needed to use the restroom and was swerving because a sex act was being performed on him. He also claimed he had not been drinking, but his passenger had.
The officer who pulled Dolci over — Eddy Lutz, who Mothers Against Drunk Driving awarded for making more than 1,000 DUI arrests in his career — gave a field sobriety test but cut it short and gave Dolci the option of continuing the test or having a friend pick him up. Dolci picked the latter.
‘’I’m going to trust that you wait to get picked up,’’ Lutz is heard saying to Dolci before the video concludes.
On Thursday, News 6 partners Florida Today reported the Melbourne Police Department had launched an internal investigation into Dolci.
Officer Shaun Hill, a spokesperson for Melbourne Police Department, said the department was investigating the incident.
“At this time, the incident is under internal investigation,” Hill said to Florida Today. He declined to say if Dolci was off-duty and in his own vehicle, and declined any further comment.