Jaahnavi Kandula

The death of Jaahnavi Kandula (1999 – January 23, 2023) occurred in Seattle, Washington on January 23, 2023, when Seattle Police Department officer Kevin Dave hit her in his police vehicle as she crossed the street in a marked crosswalk. Kandula was a graduate student from India at Northeastern University's Seattle campus preparing to graduate with a master's in Information Systems in December 2023. Dave was driving without a continuous siren while responding to a drug overdose call, and the street had a normal speed limit of . Kandula died after the collision threw her .

On September 11, 2023, the Police Department released body camera footage of Seattle Police Department officer Daniel Auderer—the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild— laughing and making jokes about the situation shortly after evaluating Dave for potential impairment during the fatal collision. Auderer was on a phone call with police union president Mike Solan, and he said that Kandula had "limited value" so the city should "just write a check or$11,000". The footage was forwarded to the Seattle Office of Police Accountability and an investigation into Auderer's conduct was opened; the King County Prosecuting Attorney also announced a criminal review of Dave's actions. The released footage prompted condemnation and the Consulate General of India in San Francisco stated that the footage was "deeply troubling" and called for an investigation.

On September 13, 2023, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released a condolence letter written to Kandula's family. By September 29, Auderer had been suspended from patrol duty.

References

1999 births
2023 deaths
2023 controversies in the United States
2023 in Seattle
2023 in Washington (state)
Accidental deaths in Washington (state)
Deaths by person in Washington (state)
Pedestrian road incident deaths
People killed by law enforcement officers
Road incident deaths in Washington (state)
Indian-American history

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