On September 11th 2023, the Seattle Police Department released a chilling video of Officer Daniel Auderer laughing and joking about 23 year-old Jaahnavi Kandula being struck and killed by a patrol car near her university. This incident occurred on the 24th of January yet was just made public by the Seattle Police Department. Innocent Jaahnavi Kandula was walking down a crosswalk when officer Kevin Dave hit her as he was going 74 miles per hour, 49 miles per hour over the speed limit, she was fatally struck as the collision threw her 138 feet.
In the body cam footage, Officer Auderer can be heard making light of Kandula’s death. Auderer, who is also the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, can be heard talking on the phone in his police cruiser. According to an article written by CBSnews Auderer states, “But she is dead.” he laughs “No, it’s a regular person.” he says, before laughing again. “Yeah, just write a check. Eleven thousand dollars.” Auderer was recorded stating on the phone call. “She was 26 anyways, she had limited value.” Auderer carries on, laughing.
The footage has caused nationwide outrage, and Auderer defends his statements. He sent a written statement to Jason Rantz, a radio talk show remarking that his statements weren’t his opinions, but that he was mocking what city attorney’s might try to reduce the liability of Kandula’s death. “I intended the comment as a mockery of lawyers,” Auderer wrote. “I laughed at the ridiculousness of how these incidents are litigated and the ridiculousness of how I watched these incidents play out as two parties bargain over a tragedy.” Auderer comments that his statements weren’t made out of spite, but instead quite the contrary. The comment was “not made with malice or a hard heart,” he said, but “quite the opposite.”
The Officers’ Guild supported Audere’s claims of innocence, stating that the video went viral, and fails to explain the context of the video. The Officers Guild also commended Audere’s for taking responsibility for the video a month before it was released. As of today, Auderer has faced no consequences apart from the backlash he’s been receiving.
