Days after Gisele Bündchen broke down in tears over an alleged stalker during a traffic stop, the mayor of Surfside, Florida, is showing his support for the supermodel and calling on police to do better when it comes to showing empathy.
“I was dismayed yesterday to watch a video interaction of one of our residents speaking to one of our police officers. As one watches the video, it becomes clear very early in same that the resident is upset and frightened,” Mayor Charles Burkett said in a letter addressed to Interim Chief Henry Doce and obtained by Local 10 News. “The frightened resident tells the Surfside officer that she believes a stalker is following her and that she is afraid.”
The supermodel was driving around Surfside, Florida, on Wednesday when she was stopped by police for driving erratically. The officer who pulled her over let her go without issuing a ticket, but in bodycam footage obtained by Fox News Digital, she quickly became emotional.
Gisele Bündchen said she was being followed by paparazzi when she was pulled over by Florida police. (Surfside Police Department)
“I was just trying to stay [away] from that guy,” Bündchen told the officer, referring to a paparazzo who had been pursuing her.
The officer acknowledged that he knew who she was and understood the situation, but told her that he couldn’t do anything to help her with it.
“This response is wholly unacceptable and not reflective of the values, judgment and service residents expect from their police,” Burkett said. “On the contrary, our police department’s paramount job is to keep our residents safe! The dismissive posture towards a resident who is clearly in distress is everything we do not want to see in the way our police interact and serve our residents.”
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During the traffic stop, Bündchen was told she’d have to file a report with the police in Miami Beach, since that’s where the photographer originally began tailing her. The officer apologized for not being able to do more, and that’s when she began crying.
Gisele Bündchen told the police officer she’s “so tired” of paparazzi following her. (Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)
“I’m so tired,” Bündchen said through tears. “Everywhere I go I have these f—ing guys after me. Nothing protects me. I can’t do nothing. I just want to live my life.”
“I can’t prevent them from doing their job, which is to take pictures,” the officer responded as she sobbed.
“I don’t know how that’s allowed,” she told him.
He asked if he could do anything else for her, and she said no, then thanked him.
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Reps for Bundchen did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time.
“I have always supported our police, and all the men and women who choose to honorably serve” Burkett concluded his letter. “What I saw on that video and the actions of the Surfside union boss at our recent meeting indicate that the past command staff leadership and union leadership, have lost sight of their mission. We are all counting on you to refocus our police department’s primary mission back to serving our residents.”
Fox News Digital’s Emily Trainham and Caroline Thayer contributed to this post.
Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
