Dianna Russini’s claim that she dodged a traffic ticket by FaceTiming the cop’s favorite NFL coach has been debunked.
Four months after the journalist shared the story on the “Stugotz and Company” podcast, police bodycam footage tells a different tale.
In the seven minutes and 10 seconds captured, the 43-year-old did not call anyone — but she did name-drop multiple professional football coaches.
“I’m an NFL reporter, and I just broke that [coach] Sean McDermott got fired from the Bills,” Russini told the officer, confessing she had meant to “pull over … to make calls.”
The sports reporter continued, “I know you don’t care, but I’m just letting you know my reason why. It was a work thing and it was an emergency for what I do.”
Russini added that she had been on the phone with former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll, who she claimed “want[ed] the job” in Buffalo.
She asked the cop whether he was a New York Jets or Giants fan, to which he responded that he rooted for the Minnesota Vikings.
Russini then showed off text messages from the team’s head coach, Kevin O’Connell.
The cop subsequently “cut [her] a break,” saying, “I understand your job requires you to be on the phone a lot. Just try to wait ‘til you get home, OK?”
He quipped, “Keep me up to date with the Vikings, OK? Let me know if [they’re] gonna get a new quarterback.”
When Russini recounted the story for podcast listeners in February, however, she said that she called the coach of the policeman’s favorite team.
“Do you want to talk to the coach?” she recalled asking him. “You should talk to the coach.”
Russini alleged that the unnamed coach told the cop to “let her go” since she is a “good citizen.”
The embellished story resurfaced in a New York Times piece published Wednesday rehashing Russini’s headline-making scandal with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
In April, notably, Page Six published a slew of photos of the pair, who are married to other people, cozied up as far back as 2020.
Last week’s profile confirmed the coach Russini allegedly called while being pulled over was not Vrabel, 50.
As for Ridgewood Police’s take on the traffic stop, the organization released a statement reading, “The use of officer discretion in determining whether to issue a warning or a citation is consistent with Ridgewood Police Department policy and longstanding practice.
“Police officers are encouraged to use their judgment and, when appropriate, provide motorists with warnings as part of the Department’s commitment to fair, impartial and community-oriented policing.”
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