US: Seattle police defends cop laughing over Indian student's death, says video 'taken out of context'
The 23-year-old Kandula was killed in January after she was struck by a police vehicle driven by Officer Kevin Dave. The latter was reportedly driving over 119 kmph on the way to a report of an overdose.
After 23-year-old Jaanhavi Kandula was killed by a police vehicle in Seattle, the city's police have come out in defence of an officer after a video went viral showing him making insensitive remarks after her death.
Kandula was killed in January after she was struck by a police vehicle driven by Officer Kevin Dave. He was driving more than 119 kmph on the way to a report of an overdose, as per reports. The Biden administration has assured the Indian government of a quick investigation into the death and bring officers responsible for the incident to justice.
In bodycam footage released on Monday by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer laughed about the deadly crash and dismissed any implication Dave might be at fault or that a criminal investigation was necessary. "Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway," Auderer said in the video, misstating Kandula's age. "She had limited value," he was quoted as saying.
"That's not reckless for a trained driver," Auderer said in the video, adding that he doesn't believe "she was thrown 40 feet either," the report said. "But she is dead," he said, laughing and adding, "No, it's a regular person." Only Auderer's side of the conversation was audible in the bodycam footage.
What did Auderer say?
In a letter to the Office of Police Accountability dated August 3, Auderer said that his remarks were made as a mockery to lawyers and that he had laughed at the ridiculousness of how these incidents are litigated. He also said that he understands that citizens would rightfully believe he was being insensitive to a death after hearing the video.
"At the time I believed the conversation was private and not being recorded. The conversation was also not within the course of my duties," he told Gino Betts, director of the Office of Police Accountability. Auderer said that during his conversation with Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Mike Solan, the latter said something like it was unfortunate that the incident would trun into lawyers arguing the "value of human life" and what crazy argument they would come up, to which he made the remark about her age.
"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," he said in the letter, adding that he was unaware of the victim's identity and his comments could be interpreted as horrifying without context.
Auderer further said, "My intent in requesting rapid adjudication is to be as transparent as possible. I am willing to accept any reasonable discipline our accountability partners and the Chief of Police wish to hand down."
What did the Seattle Police say?
In a statement, the Seattle Police Officers' Guild acknowledged viral videos of police actions shared on social media, saying that they failed to explain the full context and represented only one side of the conversation.
"This Seattle Police video is an example of that reality. The video captures only one side of the conversation. There is much more detail and nuance that has not been made public yet… SPOG has full confidence that the civilian led police accountability system known as the Office of Police Accountability / OPA will conduct a thorough and fair investigation," said the guild in the statement.
The police further wrote that Auderer immediately took ownership of his actions after being coming to know about the video and requested Betts to consider 'rapid adjudication' to expedite police employee misconduct investigations.
Online petition for Auderer's termination
Amid the chaos, an online petition has been launched seeking to terminate Auderer as a police officer. The petition has garnered over 6,700 signatures. "By allowing Auderer to remain in a position where he interacts with the public, we are putting our community at risk," said the petition.
Nishtha Raheja Goel, who launched the online petition, also called on former Mayor Jenny Durkan, City Council members, and other relevant authorities to work on Auderer's termination and demanded police accountability.
Additionally, Seattle Council member Kshama Sawant has also called for an immediate, independent, public investigation into this outrage. She also sought Auderer's immediate termination and lambasted the guild for failing to hold police responsible.
She also termed the guild as a "highly reactionary" organisation that has fought against every measure of police accountability. Notably, Auderer is the vice-president of the guild.
'Deeply troubling': India on handling of Kandula's death
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco on Wednesday termed the handling of Kandula's death as "deeply troubling". "We have taken up the matter strongly with local authorities in Seattle and Washington State as well as senior officials in Washington DC for a thorough investigation and action against those involved in this tragic case," the mission said in a post on platform X.
India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, strongly raised the issue at the highest level in Washington and sought prompt action on the killing of Kandula, and the highly insensitive behaviour of the police officer in Seattle in Washington state.
"Mr. Auderer, the life of every Indian immigrant has infinite value,” said Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, while another Indian-origin Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal called the incident "appalling".
In a letter to the Kandula family, Seattle City Mayor Bruce Harrell said that the comments made by one person do not reflect the feelings of the city or the communities that call it home.
(with PTI inputs)