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Jaahnavi Kandula death: Seattle Police Dept fires cop who laughed

Thursday, 18 Jul, 2024
Jaahnavi Kandula was struck by a police vehicle as she was crossing a street. (Photo courtesy: Youtube videograb)

New York: A US police officer, whose insensitive comments and laughter following the horrific death of a 23-year-old Indian student had caused outrage, has been fired from the Seattle Police Department. 

Jaahnavi Kandula was struck by a speeding police vehicle driven by Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave as she was crossing a street on January 23 last year. 

Dave was driving at more than 119 kmph on the way to a report of a drug overdose call. Kandula was thrown 100 feet when she was struck by the speeding police patrol vehicle. 

In bodycam footage released by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer was heard laughing after the deadly crash and had remarked: "Uh, I think she went up on the hood, hit the windshield, and then when he hit the brakes, flew off the car...But she is dead." After making these comments, Auderer "laughed hard for four seconds," the department's Disciplinary Action Report said. 

Auderer's body-worn camera also captured him saying, "Yeah, just write a check. Just, yeah (laughter). USD 11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value." 

Interim Chief Sue Rahr at the Seattle Police Department said in an internal email, seen by news agency PTI, that the hurt Auderer's words have inflicted on Kandula's family "cannot be erased. The actions (of) this individual police officer have brought shame on the Seattle Police Department and our entire profession, making the job of every police officer more difficult."  

Rahr said that as the leader of the organization, it is her duty to uphold the high standards necessary to maintain public trust. "For me to allow the officer to remain on our force would only bring further dishonor to the entire department. For that reason, I am going to terminate his employment," she said in the internal email.