A Washington State police officer is under fire for making insensitive comments about a 23-year-old Indian woman who was fatally struck by his colleague.
Jaahavi Kandula, a graduate student at Northeastern University Seattle campus, had the right of way and was crossing the street in a crosswalk when Officer Kevin Dave hit her in January 2023. Dave was responding to an emergency drug overdose and was cruising above the speed limit when the impact happened, King 5 reported.
An investigation report viewed by the outlet revealed that the officer was driving about 63 mph in a 25 mph zone, stating that the speed didn’t allow “[Kandula] or him sufficient time to detect, address and avoid a hazard that presented itself.”
Dave had his emergency lights on, but his siren was not until he briefly “chirped” it at the crosswalk, according to the report. It’s unclear if Kandula, sporting an all-black outfit with white shoes, had her AirPods in her ears at the time of the collision.
The officer was not criminally charged but received a traffic infraction for second-degree negligent driving — which the New York Post noted has a civil penalty of up to $5,000. The community is calling for Dave to be held responsible.
Another officer, identified as Daniel Auderer, was captured on body camera laughing and making offensive remarks about Kandula during a private phone conversation in his vehicle, per the report. He was talking to Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan at the time.
“But she is dead,” Auderer said before chuckling, later adding, “Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.”
The Post reported that Auderer claimed he was speaking about the justice system and his comments were taken out of context: “I intended the comment as a mockery of lawyers. I was imitating what a lawyer tasked with negotiating the case would be saying and being sarcastic to express that they shouldn’t be coming up with crazy arguments to minimize the payment.”
“I understand that without context the comment could be interpreted as horrifying and crude,” he continued. “Without context the comment is insensitive to the family of the victim when in reality I was involved in a conversation regarding the callousness of the legal system.”
According to the outlets, Auderer could be suspended or fired for his unprofessional actions. His disciplinary hearing is now scheduled for April 1.
The officer’s comments resulted in significant backlash, including from Kandula’s family, who reportedly said it was “truly disturbing and saddening” to hear.
