US Officer caught on camera laughing about Indian student killed in accident
Washington: A bodycam footage that was released recently showed a Seattle police officer laughing and joking about an Indian-origin woman who was struck and killed by a police patrol car in January this year, reports New York Post.
In the video, the officer Daniel Auderer can be heard discussing the investigation into the accident involving 23-year-old graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula, who was killed on January 23 by his colleague, Officer Kevin Dave.
"she is dead" before bursting out into laughter. Referring to Kandula, Auderer said, "No, it’s a regular person." Towards the end of the clip, he can be heard saying, through bursts of laughter, "Yeah, just write a check. Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway," misstating the age of the victim. He further said, "She had limited value."
The Seattle police department, which released the video in the interest of transparency said it will not comment on the matter until the Police Accountability Office concludes its investigation into the incident.
Following the release of the video, The Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC) on Monday issued a statement calling the conversation between Auderer and his colleague, "heartbreaking and shockingly insensitive."
Kandula, a native of the Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, died after being struck by a Seattle police patrol vehicle in South Lake Union. According to the statement of the Seattle police department, the officer driving the marked patrol SUV was travelling northbound on Dexter Avenue North when responding with Seattle Fire Department to a "priority one call." The vehicle hit the female pedestrian, crossing from east to west in the crosswalk.
Auderer on the call reported the officer was driving his car at 50 MPH and was not ''out of control''. However, the police investigation found that the car was at 74 MPH when it hit Kandula. The cause of death was multiple blunt-force injuries, King County Medical Examiner's Office said.
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Jharkhand: 2 killed, 5 injured after being run over by truck
Garhwa/Hazaribag (PTI): Two persons were killed and five others injured after being allegedly run over by a truck in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Thursday evening, police said.
The deceased were standing near a roadside puncture repair shop in Charhi when the accident happened, they said.
The injured persons were admitted to the Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College and Hospital, they added.
"The identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained," said a police officer.
In another accident in Garhwa, two men in their mid-20s died after being hit by a speeding tractor, police said.
The accident happened in the Mahuliya panchayat in the Garhwa police station area in the early hours, they said.
"Rahul Chaudhary (26) and Nandlal Ram (26) were standing near their motorcycle on the roadside. A speeding tractor coming from the opposite direction hit them. Rahul died on the spot, while Nandlal succumbed to the injuries while being taken to the Sadar Hospital," said a police officer.
"Immediately after the mishap, the tractor driver abandoned the vehicle and fled. The tractor has been seized, and raids are underway to apprehend the absconding driver," he said.
