An investigation was underway against Seattle police union leaders after an officer was caught on camera laughing and making a joke about an Indian-origin woman, Jaahnavi Kandula, who was killed by a police vehicle in January this year, the New York Post reported. In the clip released on Monday, Seattle Police Officers' Guild Vice President Daniel Auderer can be heard discussing the probe into the accident involving Kandula, who was killed by Officer Kevin Dave on January 23.
The 23-year-old Kandula was a master's student at Northeastern University's Seattle campus and a native of the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. She died after being struck by a Seattle police patrol vehicle in South Lake Union, Seattle. Dave had used his siren but it was not running continuously and his car ended up hitting Kandula, New York Times reported.
In the clip, Daniel Auderer, who was on a call with the guild's president, can be heard saying, "She is dead" after which he broke into laughter and termed Kandula "a regular person". He further stated, "Yeah, just write a check. Eleven thousand dollars.'' At the end of the video clip, the officer was heard saying, "She was 26 anyway; she had limited value", getting her age wrong.
Auderer also mentioned that he did not believe a criminal investigation was being conducted. “I mean, he was going 50 mph. That’s not out of control. That’s not reckless for a trained driver,” Auderer said.
However, a report released in June revealed Dave was actually driving 74 mph in a 25-mph zone while responding to a different “high-priority” call, as reported by KIRO 7. Meanwhile, the Seattle police department refused to comment on the matter until the Police Accountability Office concludes its probe into the incident.
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