Jaahnavi Kandula Police recently released a video stemming from the Jan. 23 collision.
An officer was seen on his body camera laughing over the death of a 23-year-old woman who was tragically struck by another officer who was responding to a complaint. A Seattle police accountability office is now looking into the incident.
On the evening of January 23, a police officer allegedly struck graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula with his patrol SUV as Jaahnavi Kandula was at a crosswalk. The investigation report from the Seattle Police Department, which was given to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, states that the officer, Kevin Dave, was traveling at 74 mph just before the crash. According to investigators, Dave was responding as an EMT to a “priority 1” emergency call at the time.
According to the investigative report, Officer Daniel Auderer came to the site to assess Dave and found no evidence of an impairment.
Auderer can be heard discussing the incident while on the phone in his cruiser in recently released body camera footage.
He is moving at 50 mph. That is in control. For a trained driver, that isn’t reckless, Auderer stated during the phone chat, which the video’s timestamp indicates took place on January 24.
During the call, it is impossible to hear the other person he is speaking to.
Auderer talks about whether Jaahnavi Kandula was in the crosswalk, how far Jaahnavi Kandula was flung, and then he adds, “But she is dead,” and then chuckles.
Auderer replies, “Yeah, just write a check,” at the 2 1/2 minute mark of the clip, to laughter.
“One million dollars. He misrepresented Kandula’s age by suggesting that Jaahnavi Kandula was 26. Jaahnavi Kandula was not very valuable.
The video was identified by a department employee who was “concerned about the nature of statements heard on that video” and brought it to the chief’s office, according to the Seattle Police Department, which published it on Monday.
The police department’s independent Office of Police Accountability was consulted after the chief watched the footage to evaluate whether “any policy violation that might be implicated,” the department stated in a statement on Monday.
In response to popular outrage, the department made the video public “in the interest of transparency,” but it has since stated that it is unable to comment on its content until the Office of Police Accountability has finished its investigation.
The police agency stated that it had spoken to the victim’s family and was continuing to respect their wish for privacy. We once more send our sincere condolences for this unfortunate collision as other members of the accountability system go about their work.
According to the Seattle Community Police Commission, a citizen oversight body, Auderer is vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, the police union that represents Seattle officers.
A request for comment regarding the video did not immediately elicit a response from Auderer or the Seattle Police Officers Guild.
The phone conversation was described by the co-chairs of the Seattle Community Police Commission as “heartbreaking and shockingly insensitive.”
The co-chairs, Rev. Harrier Walden, Rev. Patricia Hunter, and Joel Merkel, released a statement that said: “Detective Auderer is heard laughing in response to the person on the other end of the call after confirming that the pedestrian died.” He made light of the fact that her life “had limited value” and was only worth $11,000.
Auderer engaged in “unprofessional and inhumane conduct” in what was allegedly a private conversation, the complaint stated.
At the point when Jaahnavi Kandula died, Kandula, an Indian understudy at Northeastern College’s Seattle grounds, was seeking after a graduate degree in data frameworks.
According to the police, Dave’s patrol SUV’s emergency lights and siren were turned on at the time of the incident.
A responding officer observed Dave to be “visibly shaken” at the scene, according to the investigation report.
As I plunged, the alarm started trilling and the lights were on. At the point when Jaahnavi Kandula saw me when I was at the crosswalk, she promptly started to run through it. My brakes were hammered. Jaahnavi Kandula simply zips,” Dave told the official, as indicated by the report, instead of holding up where she should prior to crossing.
When News sent Dave a message asking for comment on the situation, he did not respond right away.
Before deciding whether to press charges, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is reviewing the situation from a criminal perspective. Additionally, the Office of Police Accountability is looking into it.