Seattle officer recorded joking about woman killed by a police car

An ongoing investigation is examining bodycam footage in which a Seattle police officer, Officer Daniel Auderer, appears to display inappropriate behavior regarding the tragic death of Jaahnavi Kandula, a 23-year-old woman fatally struck by a patrol car near her university.

In the video, Officer Auderer can be heard making troubling remarks, suggesting that the life of the Indian student had little value, and that the city should simply offer compensation. Officer Auderer has since claimed that his comments were taken out of context.

Jaahnavi Kandula, a graduate student at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus, lost her life when she was struck by a police car while crossing the street on January 23rd. According to The Seattle Times, the officer driving the car was traveling at 74mph (119km/h), and the victim’s body was thrown over 100 feet (30 meters).

Officer Auderer’s body camera recorded audio from a call he made to a colleague at the scene. During the call, he was heard saying, “But she is dead,” followed by laughter, and then remarking, “No, it’s a regular person. Yeah, just write a cheque,” before laughing again. He also made an insensitive comment about her value, stating, “Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.”

Officer Auderer, who is also a union leader in the Seattle Police Department, was speaking with Mike Solan, the guild’s president, during the call. Unfortunately, Mr. Solan’s audio is not audible in the recording.

The Seattle Police Department released a statement, revealing that the conversation was discovered by an employee during the regular course of their duties. This employee expressed concern about the nature of the statements and reported them up the chain of command. Consequently, the matter was forwarded to the Office of Police Accountability, the agency responsible for investigating police misconduct. This agency is currently examining the context in which the statements were made and whether any department policies were violated.

A conservative talk radio host, Jason Rantz, claimed to have obtained a written statement from Officer Auderer, in which he explained that his comments were intended to mimic how city attorneys might attempt to minimize liability for the woman’s death. According to KTTH radio, Officer Auderer stated, “I laughed at the ridiculousness of how these incidents are litigated.”

The Seattle Community Police Commission, another oversight agency, described the body-camera footage as “heartbreaking and shockingly insensitive.” Victoria Beach, the chair of the African American Community Advisory Council, expressed her shock and distress over the incident, stating that she was “sickened” by the callousness displayed by someone laughing about a tragic death.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is conducting a criminal review of the crash, adding another layer of scrutiny to this troubling incident.