Seattle cop who shot attorney in '06 melee charged with DUI

A Seattle police officer who shot a local attorney after being attacked by a group of men in downtown Seattle three years ago was arrested last week in Grays Harbor County and charged with drunken driving.

Officer Zsolt Dornay, 40, and his 33-year-old brother, Dustin Dornay, were arrested just after midnight on July 26 on suspicion of driving their motorcycles in Ocean Shores while under the influence of alcohol, according to the State Patrol.

Both have been charged in Grays Harbor County District Court and pleaded not guilty.

Seattle police launched an internal investigation after the State Patrol notified the department that an officer had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) in Grays Harbor County, spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said in a written statement.

Though department policy does not allow police officials to comment on internal investigations or identify officers who are subject to open internal investigations, the statement was provided to The Seattle Times on Tuesday after an inquiry about Dornay's arrest.

According to Whitcomb's statement, the officer, a 15-year veteran who is a detective assigned to the Criminal Investigations Bureau, has been placed on administrative reassignment pending the outcome of the investigation. The statement does not say what his current duties are.

Dornay did not return a telephone message.

Sobriety tests

According to State Patrol Sgt. Freddy Williams, the Dornay brothers were riding on Point Brown Avenue, Ocean Shores' main drag, when a trooper stopped them for going 49 mph in a 25 mph zone.

The brothers acknowledged drinking at a local pub and said they were on their way to a relative's house nearby, Williams said.

Officer Dornay informed the trooper that he is a Seattle police officer, and the trooper's sergeant contacted the Seattle department, Williams said, adding that Dornay "was being very cooperative" with the trooper who had stopped him.

The brothers were arrested after performing field-sobriety tests, Williams said. They were taken to the Ocean Shores Police Department and later released, he said.

Officer Dornay agreed to breath tests, which registered 0.149 and 0.172 percent blood alcohol, according to the citation filed in Grays Harbor County District Court. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.

Dustin Dornay refused the breath test, Williams said.

2006 shooting

In June 2006, Officer Dornay was seriously injured in a late-night altercation in Post Alley near Pike Place Market that ended when he shot a man.

Dornay, who had just gotten off duty and was meeting friends, was revving his motorcycle and slowly driving through Post Alley when he was confronted by an inebriated woman. The woman knocked over Dornay's bike, and he slammed her into a garage door. Then a group of men attacked Dornay.

He was pushed down, kicked and stomped before he fired into the crowd, wounding local attorney Jim Walker, who was the employer of the inebriated woman.

The King County Prosecutor's Office eventually decided not to file criminal charges against anyone involved in the incident. Walker sued Dornay last year, and Dornay countersued.

The suits recently were dismissed by mutual agreement, according to King County Superior Court records.

Information from The Seattle Times archive is included in this report.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com