Seattle police fire officer who said Indian student killed had 'limited value'
New York/Seattle (PTI): A US police officer, whose insensitive comments and laughter following the horrific death of a 23-year-old Indian student had caused outrage, has been fired from the Seattle Police Department.
Jaahnavi Kandula was struck by a speeding police vehicle driven by Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave as she was crossing a street on January 23 last year.
Dave was driving at more than 119 kmph on the way to a report of a drug overdose call. Kandula was thrown 100 feet when she was struck by the speeding police patrol vehicle.
In bodycam footage released by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer was heard laughing after the deadly crash and had remarked: “Uh, I think she went up on the hood, hit the windshield, and then when he hit the brakes, flew off the car…But she is dead.”
After making these comments, Auderer “laughed hard for four seconds,” the department’s Disciplinary Action Report said.
Auderer’s body-worn camera also captured him saying, “Yeah, just write a check. Just, yeah (laughter). USD 11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.”
When asked at an Office of Police Accountability interview about his comments that Kandula had “limited value”, Auderer claimed he was “ridiculing the city attorneys who would be tasked with litigating a potential wrongful death lawsuit.”
Interim Chief Sue Rahr at the Seattle Police Department said in an internal email, seen by PTI Wednesday, that the hurt Auderer’s words have inflicted on Kandula’s family “cannot be erased. The actions (of) this individual police officer have brought shame on the Seattle Police Department and our entire profession, making the job of every police officer more difficult.”
Rahr said that as the leader of the organisation, it is her duty to uphold the high standards necessary to maintain public trust. “For me to allow the officer to remain on our force would only bring further dishonour to the entire department. For that reason, I am going to terminate his employment,” she said in the internal email.
Rahr noted that at the root of this case lies an extremely difficult judgment call of how to fairly balance “intent versus impact.”
“There is no doubt that the named officer’s cruel comments and callous laughter about the tragic death caused deep pain to Ms Kandula’s family, but also immeasurable damage to the public trust of police in the Seattle community, across the nation, and around the world,” she said in the email.
Noting that it is unusual for a Chief to explain a disciplinary decision to an entire organisation, Rahr said this is an unusual enough circumstance and the "case has been covered extensively in the public, has garnered international media and diplomatic attention.”
Rahr added that it has been "quite striking” to her that a number of people, even those known to be very “pro-police,” feel the “dehumanizing laughter heard on the video is more outrageous and disturbing” than Kandula’s death.
“Our government gives police officers the authority to deprive people of their liberty and in the most extreme circumstances, their life," Rahr said.
"This authority rests on the public’s trust that officers will demonstrate respect for the sanctity of human life. The officer’s laughter and callous comments about the “limited value” of Ms. Kandula’s life displayed a cruel mockery of the sanctity of her life. That is a betrayal of that sacred trust. Not only did his comments irrevocably break the public’s trust in the officer, individually, but they caused extreme damage to the public’s trust in the entire Seattle Police Department,” Rahr said.
She noted that the impact of Auderer’s actions is “so devastating that it cannot be mitigated by his intent to keep his conversation private.”
In February, the King County Prosecutor's Office had said that they would not move forward with criminal charges against Dave. The Seattle City Attorney had issued a USD 5,000 traffic infraction against him, according to KomoNews.
King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion had said that she believes they lack the evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It is the responsibility of the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to review all available evidence relating to the case involving Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave and the January 2023 collision death of Jaahnavi Kandula. After staffing this case with senior deputy prosecuting attorneys and office leadership, I have determined that we lack sufficient evidence under Washington State law to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt."
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
