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.
He was over 119 kmph driving toward the location of a call for a suspected drug overdose report. Kandula was projected 100 feet when she was hit by the speeding police patrol vehicle.
According to the bodycam footage published by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer was heard laughing after the fatal crash and had commented: "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."
Having uttered such remarks, the department's Disciplinary Action Report said Auderer "laughed hard for four seconds."
His 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.
When asked about his remarks at an Office of Police Accountability interview that Kandula had "limited value", Auderer claimed he was "ridiculing the city attorneys who would be tasked with litigating a potential wrongful death lawsuit.
Interim Chief Sue Rahr at the Seattle Police Department said in an internal email, seen by PTI Wednesday, 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."
As the head of the organization, Rahr said that she has a duty to uphold the high standards required to maintain public trust. "For me to allow the officer to remain on our force would only bring further dishonour to the entire department. For that reason, I am going to terminate his employment," she said in the internal email.
Rahr further observed that at the core of this case, indeed sits an extremely difficult judgment call of how to fairly balance "intent versus impact."
There is no question that the named officer's cruel remarks and callous laughter about the tragic death caused deep pain to Ms Kandula's family, but also immeasurable damage to the public trust of police in the Seattle community, across the nation, and around the world," she said in the email.
Noting that it is unusual for a Chief to explain a disciplinary decision to an entire organisation, Rahr said this is an unusual enough circumstance and the "case has been covered extensively in the public, has garnered international media and diplomatic attention."
Rahr said that it has been "quite striking" to her that many people, including some known to be very "pro-police," find the "dehumanizing laughter heard on the video is more outrageous and disturbing" than Kandula's death.
"Our government gives police officers the authority to deprive people of their liberty and in the most extreme circumstances, their life," Rahr said.
"This trust rests on the public's trust that officers will show respect for the sanctity of human life. The officer's laughter and flippant remarks about the "little value" her life held mocked the sanctity of her life cruelly. That is a breach of that sacred trust. Not only did his remarks irreparably destroy the public's trust in the officer as an individual but caused tremendous destruction to the public's trust in the entire Seattle Police Department," Rahr said.
She added, "The harm done by Auderer's act is so devastating that it cannot be abated by his intention to make his conversation not published.
In February, the King County Prosecutor's Office had announced that they would not file criminal charges against Dave. The Seattle City Attorney had given him a USD 5,000 traffic infraction, KomoNews said.
King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion had said that she believes they lack the evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.
It is the duty of the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to consider all evidence that may be available regarding the case of Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave and the January 2023 collision death of Jaahnavi Kandula.
Having staffed this case with senior deputy prosecuting attorneys and office leadership, I have concluded that we do not have sufficient evidence under Washington State law to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt."
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