Death of Jaahnavi Kandula: US police officer who laughed at the death of an Indian student fired

The Seattle police officer whose insensitive comments and laughter sparked outrage following the death of Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula has been fired.

Interim Chief Sue Rahr of the Seattle Police Department said in an internal email that the pain Auderer’s words caused to Kandula’s family “cannot be erased. The actions of this single officer have brought shame on the Seattle Police Department and our entire profession and have made the job of every single officer more difficult.”

Rahr said as head of the organization, it was her duty to maintain the high standards necessary to maintain the public’s trust. “Allowing the officer to remain on our force would only bring further shame to the entire department. For this reason, I will be terminating his employment,” she said in the internal email seen by PTI.

Kandula, 23, was struck by a police cruiser driven by Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave on Jan. 23 as she was crossing a street. Dave was traveling at 74 mph (more than 119 kph) on his way to a drug overdose call. Kandula was thrown 100 feet when she was struck by the speeding patrol car.

In bodycam footage released by Seattle police, Officer Daniel Auderer laughed about the fatal crash, noting, “Uh, I think she flew onto the hood, hit the windshield and then when he hit the brakes, she flew off the car… But she’s dead.” After these comments, Auderer “laughed loudly for four seconds,” the disciplinary action report states.

Seattle police officer: Comments taken out of context
Previously, the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild defended the officer accused of making insensitive comments following Kandula’s death. They claimed his remarks were taken out of context and viral videos do not show the full story. In a letter published in August last year, the officer stated that he laughed at the absurdity of the way incidents are litigated and believed the conversation was private. He was dispatched to assist with the fatal accident.

“At the time, I believed the conversation was confidential and would not be recorded. Furthermore, the conversation was outside of my scope of responsibility,” he wrote in his letter to Gino Betts, director of the Office of Police Accountability.
Kandula received her Master’s degree posthumously

Northeastern University awarded Kandula a posthumous master’s degree. Chancellor Kenneth W. Henderson also expressed solidarity with the Indian student community and hoped for justice through ongoing investigations. He recalled Jaahnavi’s humor and infectious personality and said her loss deeply affects students, staff and faculty. Henderson also condemned the insensitive remarks made by a Seattle police officer after the accident.