In a conversation with Mike Solan, the head of the Seattle Police Officersā€™ Guild, Seattle Police Department officer and SPOG vice president Daniel Auderer minimized the killing of 23-year-old student Jaahnavi Kandula by police officer Kevin Dave and joked that she had ā€œlimited valueā€ as a ā€œregular personā€ who was only 26 years old.

In the video, taken in the early morning after Dave hit Kandula in a crosswalk while speeding to respond to a call from a man who believed he had taken too much cocaine, Auderer says he has talked to Dave and he is ā€œgood,ā€ adding that ā€ it does not seem like thereā€™s a criminal investigation going onā€ because Dave was ā€œgoing 50 [mph]ā€”thatā€™s not out of controlā€ and because Kandula may not have even been in a crosswalk. Auderer added that Dave had ā€œlights and sirensā€ on, which video confirmed was not true.

In fact, as we reported exclusively, Dave was driving 74 miles an hour in a 25 mile per hour zone and struck Kandula while she was attempting to cross the street in a marked and well-lighted crosswalk.

ā€œI think she went up on the hood, hit the windshield, then when he hit the brakes, she flew off the car. But she is dead. No, itā€™s a regular person. Yeah, just write a check. Yeah, $11,000. She was 26 anyway, she had limited value.ā€ā€”Seattle police officer Daniel Auderer, joking with police union president Mike Solan about the death of pedestrian Jaahnavi Kandula earlier that night.

ā€œI donā€™t think she was thrown 40 feet either,ā€ Auderer told Solan. ā€œI think she went up on the hood, hit the windshield, then when he hit the brakes, she flew off the car. But she is dead.ā€ Then Auderer laughed loudly at something Solan said. ā€œNo, itā€™s a regular person. Yeah.ā€

We have asked SPOG via email what Solan asked that made Auderer clarify that Kandula was a ā€œregularā€ person, as opposed to another type of person Dave might have hit.

ā€œYeah, just write a check,ā€ Auderer continued. Then he laughed again for several seconds. ā€œYeah, $11,000. She was 26 anyway, she had limited value.ā€ At this point, Auderer turned off his body camera and the recording stops.

Joel Merkel, the co-chair of Seattleā€™s Community Police Commission, called the video ā€œshockingly insensitive.

ā€œI was just really struck by the casual laughter and attitudeā€”this was moments after she was killed,ā€ Merkel said. ā€œYou have the vice president of SPOG on the telephone with the president of SPOG essentially laughing and joking about the pedestrianā€™s death and putting a dollar value on her head, and that alone is just disgusting and inhumane,ā€ Merkel said.

[article continues]

  • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    You know, I still find it weird that officers can turn off their own bodycamsā€¦

    Like imagine if Dave had thought to turn their bodycam off earlier, we wouldnā€™t even have this recording available.

    Shouldnā€™t somebody else be responsible for deciding when the bodycams are allowed to be off other than the parties most likely to abuse that ability?

    • Hydroel@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Whatā€™s horrifying to me is - if they thought about turning off their camera then, what did they say afterwards?

    • IamtheMorgz@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I asked a cop a sort of sensitive question once (if I would be legally justified if I shot a dog that was aggressive) and she turned off her body cam to answer. I had to remind her to call it in (in the jurisdiction she worked in, cops have to let their dispatcher know if they are turning off their cam for any reason). She called it in after I told her to. She had no idea that (at the time) I was one of the dispatchers for that jurisdiction.

      She answered the question as I was pretty sure she would, and I got why she didnā€™t want a recording of her saying it. But also, she didnā€™t lie or anything so I donā€™t know why she thought it was necessary.

      I had to remind her to turn it back on (and let her dispatcher know!)

      Cops are dumb about their cams. Youā€™d think if you were really confident in your ability to do your job correctly you wouldnā€™t be worried, but hey, maybe they are just not that good at their jobs.

      • Hobo@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Dangerous game to ask a cop for legal advice. Doesnā€™t have to be accurate and they have no obligation to tell you the truth. I get it in that situation, because it sounds like it was a what-if scenario, but no one should trust any legal advice from a cop.