The cop who killed a 23-year-old Indian graduate student in January 2023 while responding to a report was sacked by Seattle’s acting police chief on Monday. After another officer’s heartless comments regarding Jaahnavi Kandula’s death were captured on his body-worn camera, the case sparked indignation and garnered international attention.
Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr announced Monday that she had decided to fire Kevin Dave after the Seattle Office of Police Accountability found that he had broken four department policies, including one requiring the safe operation of police vehicles, in an email to department members that NBC News was able to obtain.
According to the police investigation report, Dave was traveling at 74 mph in a 25 mph zone as he was en route to a call regarding an overdose.
Rahr added, “I think the officer was attempting to reach a potential overdose victim as soon as possible and had no intention of hurting anyone that night.” I cannot, however, accept the terrible results of his reckless driving. His good intentions don’t make up for the bad choice that cost a life and damaged the reputation of the Seattle Police Department.
Dave had spent four years in the department. On Tuesday, he was not readily reachable via his LinkedIn account or the phone numbers and email addresses provided.
The police union, the Seattle Police Officers Guild, was not immediately reachable by phone, and a request made via its website did not immediately result in a response.
After reviewing the case last year, the King County Prosecutor’s Office declared in February that it would not charge Dave with a felony because there was not enough evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he was intentionally ignoring safety when he struck Kandula in a crosswalk on January 23, 2023.
Dave had his emergency lights on at the time, according to the prosecutor’s office, and several pedestrians claimed to have heard his siren. Additionally, it stated that Kandula might have been wearing wireless earbuds that could have affected her hearing and that she seemed to attempt to rush across the intersection when she saw his car approaching.
The city fined Dave $5,000 for driving carelessly.
Following the September 2023 release of a recording from then-officer Daniel Auderer’s body-worn camera, Kandula’s death attracted international attention. In the video, Auderer can be heard giggling and saying that Kandula’s life was not worth much and that the city should simply write a check. When Dave struck Kandula and threw her over a hundred feet, Auderer had been sent to investigate whether he was intoxicated.
Local demonstrators had called for Kandula to receive justice, while Indian diplomats had also requested an inquiry. Born in India, Kandula was a graduate student at the Seattle branch of Northeastern University.
According to the police department, a worried colleague overheard the talk during regular office hours and informed them of it. As required by department procedure and the city’s accountability code, the chief’s office sent the video to the Office of Police Accountability for examination after the employee raised concerns and the office reviewed it.
While Auderer was on the phone with the guild president, he unintentionally left his body camera running. According to Auderer and the guild, of which he served as vice president at the time, his remarks had been misconstrued. After learning of the existence of the video and more than six months after Kandula’s murder, Auderer wrote a letter to the director of the Office of Police Accountability in which he sarcastically stated that they shouldn’t be making absurd arguments to reduce the payment, mimicking the words of a lawyer assigned to negotiate the case.
In July, Rahr fired Auderer.She claimed that Auderer’s remarks and behavior on tape had damaged the reputation of Seattle police in a department-wide email.
Rahr added in that email that many cops and supervisors had a favorable opinion of Auderer, if not adored him.
His desire to keep his communication private, in my opinion, does not lessen the terrible consequences of his conduct. Rahr stated that the harm his remarks have caused to Ms. Kandula’s family cannot be undone. According to her, this one police officer’s actions have embarrassed the Seattle Police Department and our entire profession, making it harder for all police officers to do their jobs.
Rahr admitted that people might not agree with her decision to fire Dave.
In the department-wide email released Monday, she stated, “I understand and accept that many will not agree with this decision.” Every aspect of this case is sad, and the effects will last a lifetime for all those involved. I hope that this tragic incident will serve as a constant reminder to emergency response officers: When responding to calls, do not lose sight of the danger that comes with driving too fast.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!