US police officer makes light of an Indian student’s death; India calls for immediate action

A Seattle police officer was seen on recently leaked bodycam video laughing and making light of the murder of a young woman who was hit and killed by a police car, joked that she had “limited value” and the city should “just write a cheque.”

Officer Kevin Dave killed the student, while Auderer made degrading comments

In the video, Officer Daniel Auderer can be seen discussing the investigation into the collision involving graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula, 23, who was killed on January 23 by his colleague, Officer Kevin Dave.

Auderer declares, “She is dead,” and then he starts laughing. He replies, “No, it’s just a regular person.”

Auderer can be heard jokingly adding, “Yeah, just write a cheque,” near the end of the video. The amount is $11,000. He misrepresented the victim’s age by saying, “She was 26 anyway. She had limited value.”

The vice president of the Seattle Police Guild, Auderer, also says in the video that he wasn’t aware there was a criminal investigation going on.

“I mean, he was going 50 mph. That’s not out of control. That’s not reckless for a trained driver,” added Auderer.

According to a report made public in June, Dave was really travelling at 74 mph in a 25 mph zone as he was responding to a different “high-priority” emergency, according to KIRO 7.

In response to the incident on January 23, Auderer arrived at the scene to test Dave for drugs.

According to the bodycam video’s timestamps, he called another coworker the following evening to tell them about the event.

Video of the incident reveals that Dave chirped his siren but did not have it running constantly as he crashed into Kandula, a master’s student at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus.

Details about the incident

The shocking incident took place on January 23 near Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street.

Dave said he “f-ked up,” according to bodycam footage after exceeding the 25 and 20 mph speed limits at the intersection of Thomas Street and Dexter Avenue North.

He may be seen reducing the vehicle’s speed shortly before hitting Kandula at the crucial crossroads.

He performed CPR to the Indian exchange student who had come to Northeastern University in Seattle to study information systems at the College of Engineering. Her graduation was scheduled for December.

India calls for immediate action-

The handling of Kandula’s death in a traffic accident was described as “deeply troubling” by the Indian Consulate General in San Francisco in response to the news on Wednesday.

The mission stated in a statement on platform X that it has “taken the matter strongly with local authorities in Seattle & Washington State as well as senior officials in Washington DC for a thorough investigation & action against those involved in this tragic case.”

Jaahnavi Kandula

According to a GoFundMe account which was started to aid her family, Kandula, aged 23 was originally from Andhra Pradesh in India, was enrolled in a master’s programme at Northeastern University in Seattle.

 “The family has nothing to say. Except I wonder if these men’s daughters or granddaughters have value. Her uncle Ashok Kandula was cited as stating, “A life is a life.”

Auderer confessed his sins

The report states that Auderer admitted that anyone who heard the body camera video “would rightfully believe I was being insensitive to the loss of human life” and insisted that the statement “was not made with malice or a hard heart.”

After receiving a complaint from a Seattle police department employee on August 2, the Office of Police Accountability announced that an inquiry had been opened.

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