Hero Seattle Cop Caught On Tape Mocking Death Of 23-Year-Old Woman Run Over By Police
Jaahnavi Kandula's life mattered.
Jaahnavi Kandula was a 23-year-old graduate student at Northeastern University in Seattle. At around 8 p.m. on January 23, Kandula was crossing at the clearly marked intersection near Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street when she was run down by a Seattle Police Department SUV. The vehicle was going a reported 74 miles an hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. The officer was responding to an emergency call and created another, even more serious emergency.
Kandula was treated at the scene but she died later that night. According to Erica C. Barnett at PubliCola, “SPD did not confirm that Kandula had died until Tuesday afternoon, nearly 18 hours after the crash, and initially did not disclose that the collision involved a police officer, tweeting only that they were ‘investigating [a] collision.’”
“At this point in the investigation, we have no reason to believe the officer intended to hit that woman,” SPD spokesperson Detective Valerie Carson said at the time. Because the officer didn’t shoot Kandula — just ran her over like a dog — her death wasn’t investigated as a use of force case, and the officer wasn’t even placed on leave.
However, according to a later report, the officer, Kevin Dave, didn’t have his siren activated continuously and only “chirped” the siren at the intersection where Kandula had the right of way. A previous statement from the police department claimed he did have his emergency lights on.
We know how this works. The officer is unlikely to face any real accountability for killing Kandula, and the city of Seattle would probably just write her family a check that in no way makes up for losing her.
So, obviously, Officer Daniel Auderer found this all quite hilarious.
Auderer, who is vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, was discussing the fatal incident over the phone with the guild’s president, Mike Solan. A drug recognition expert, Auderer been assigned to determine if Dave was impaired. His body camera footage shows him already advancing the usual self-serving narrative.
“I mean, he was going 50 (MPH). That’s not out of control. That’s not reckless for a trained driver,” Auderer said in the video.
That’s not true, of course, and the vehicle’s impact hurled Kandula more than 100 feet. If he’d actually been going 50 miles per hour, she might still be alive. Dave Myrtle-Wilsoned her, but I guess this son of a bitch at least stopped his car.
Auderer told Solan he’d spoken to Dave and he was “good.” Dave was good. He’d just killed a 23-year-old woman. If I’d run over someone, even if they were jaywalking while wearing a ninja costume, I wouldn’t be “good” for a long time, but my profession hasn’t trained me to prioritize my life over everyone else’s.
While describing Kandula’s awful death, Auderer giggles like the Joker. It’s horrific but you must watch this footage. You must understand how these officers view the people they are sworn to protect.
“I think she went up on the hood, hit the windshield, then when he hit the brakes, flew off the car. But she is dead.”
Then the motherfucker laughs.
“No, it’s a regular person,” he continued. “Yeah, just write a check.” More sick laughter. “$11,000. She was 26 anyway. She had limited value.”
Kandula was just 23 and her value was limitless.
Barnett and other reporters had requested the video, so pro-cop enablers tried to get ahead of the story and discredit the “anti-police narrative.” Realizing he’d left his camera running, Auderer “self-reported” himself but insisted he was just joking — although this is the sort of “humor” that deserves a slap in the face. No, he was really making fun of the lawyers and red tape and … oh stop with the bullshit. This human-shaped creature shared a laugh with another ghoul over a woman’s tragic death.
“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,” Auderer wrote in the complaint, according to KTTH.
We all know what we heard.
What happens next? Oh, the usual ass-covering. Monday, the Seattle Police Department released a statement that now claims someone other than Auderer heard the recording “in the routine course of business” and escalated it up the chain of command.
From NBC News:
After reviewing the video, the chief’s office referred it to the Office of Police Accountability for investigation, as department policy and the city’s accountability ordinance require.
The oversight agency, which investigates police misconduct and recommends discipline to the police chief, is investigating “the context in which” the statements were made and whether any policies had been violated, the police department said.
Auderer should lose his job, but I am not confident about that happening.
Kandula’s uncle, Ashok Mandula, who lives in Texas, told The Seattle Times: “The family has nothing to say,” but he added, “Except I wonder if these men’s daughters or granddaughters have value. A life is a life.”
Jaahnavi Kandula was on track to receive her master’s in information systems this December. She came to Seattle so she could one day support her mother back home in India. However, her family probably isn’t thinking about money or settlements right now. They want their daughter back.
Meanwhile, Kevin Dave, who’s still “good,” remains on active duty.
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ACAB. True story: While living in Seattle, I once had a mental emergency called wanting to commit suicide so I called 911 and talked the dispatcher about offing myself and what help can I get and she said hold on, so I stayed online, and 3 minutes later, a SWAT team of 6 showed up with assault rifles aimed at me because apparently the only way to stop someone from killing themselves is to kill them. ACAB people and you will never convince me otherwise even if you are one. Thanks
"Because the officer didn’t shoot Kandula — just ran her over like a dog — her death wasn’t investigated as a use of force case, and the officer wasn’t even placed on leave."
Except cops consider vehicles a deadly device ... when someone is driving toward THEM. So unless cops are driving cars made out of foam or down pillows, they're deadly at speed. This being backed up by the number of people killed in or by the machines.