A Seattle police officer who hit and killed a 23-year-old scholar from India in a crosswalk practically two years in the past has been fired for harmful driving, metropolis officers stated on Tuesday.
Police officer Kevin Dave was driving 74 mph (119 kph) in a 25 mph (40 kph) zone when he fatally struck graduate scholar Jaahnavi Kandula in January 2023 as she was strolling within the metropolis’s South Lake Union neighborhood, police stated.
The Seattle Workplace of Police Accountability discovered that Dave, who was on his method to the scene of a reported drug overdose, violated 4 insurance policies together with a requirement to function police automobiles safely, interim Police Chief Sue Rahr stated in an e-mail to division workers about his firing on Monday.
Rahr stated she didn’t consider Dave meant to harm anybody as he rushed to the suspected overdose sufferer.
“Nevertheless, I can’t settle for the tragic penalties of his harmful driving,” Rahr stated within the e-mail, which the division launched on Tuesday. Dave couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
The case sparked outrage and worldwide media consideration after physique cam footage captured one other police officer who was following up on the accident, Daniel Auderer, laughing and saying that Kandula’s life had “restricted worth.”
Auderer, who was fired in July 2024, stated his feedback had been taken out of context. The police accountability workplace discovered final 12 months that he violated skilled requirements and prohibitions in opposition to prejudice and derogatory language.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell stated he supported Rahr’s choice to fireplace Dave and hoped it will assist “rebuild belief in our police division.”
Kandula’s household has sued town and Dave, searching for $110 million in damages. Dave in December agreed to pay a $5,000 advantageous after town charged him with second-degree negligent driving. Prosecutors had stated that proof didn’t help prison costs.
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