The Seattle Police Oversight Commission is investigating after police body camera footage showed the head of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) union joking about the death of a woman and saying she “had limited value” after he punched and killed her patrol car, according to The Seattle Times.
On Jan. 23, 23-year-old graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula was struck by a police car driven by Officer Kevin Dave — who was responding to an overdose report, according to the publication — while crossing the street in a crosswalk. She later died in hospital.
The video released by SPD on Monday shows the officer – whom it identified as Daniel Auderer, vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG). The Seattle Times, NPR i KIRO-TV — in the call tells another officer, identified as SPOG President Mike Solan, what happened and jokes about the incident.
“She’s dead,” Auderer said in the video before laughing. He could also be heard referring to Kandula as just an “ordinary person” before saying: “Yeah, just write a cheque.”
“11,000 dollars. She was 26 years old after all. It had limited value,” he said.
Daniel Auderer caught on tape saying Jaahnavi Kandula’s life has “limited value”.
Seattle Police Department/youtube
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According to the media, Auderer was the drug recognition officer who was supposed to determine if Dave was under the influence when he hit Kandula. In the call, he mentioned that he had determined that Dave was “going to 50 [miles an hour]”, which the driver “did not lose control”.
However, a report published in June revealed that Dave was actually driving 74 mph in a 25 mph zone when he hit Kandul while on his way to an emergency call, according to KIRO-TV. The report states that Dave’s speed “did not allow him sufficient time to detect, resolve and avoid the hazard that presented itself.”
SPD said in a statement that the video camera was discovered by a department employee during the routine course of business and flagged to Chief Adrian Diaz’s office, before being forwarded to the Office of Police Accountability for investigation.
“Recognizing the public’s concern about this video, SPD is releasing this video in the interest of transparency, but in accordance with city law, SPD is reserving any comment on the content until OPA’s investigation is complete,” the department said in its statement accompanying the video.
Their statement goes on to say that SPD “has been in contact with the victim’s family” and “expresses our deepest condolences for this tragic collision.”
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Photo of Jaahnavi Kandula at the SPD Fight for Justice protest and rally on January 29, 2023.
James Anderson/Alamy
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They added: “Jaahnavi is a beloved daughter and above all dollar value to her mother and family. We firmly believe that every human life is priceless and should not be taken lightly, especially in the case of tragic loss.”
SPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Thursday.
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Kandula’s family said in a statement obtained by NBC News on Wednesday: “It is truly disturbing and saddening to hear the senseless comments about Jaahnavi’s death from an SPD officer on video camera.”
The Community Policing Commission (CPC), another watchdog, described the bodycam video in a statement to The Seattle Times and KIRO-TV as “heartbreaking and shockingly insensitive”, and pointed out that the incident “speaks to the concern that [CPC] he spoke repeatedly about elements of the culture of the Seattle Police Department and SPOG’s resistance to officer accountability measures.”
“The people of Seattle deserve better from a police department charged with fostering community trust and ensuring public safety,” the CPC added.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education