US Police Investigated For Laughing At Death Of Indian Student Hit By Police Car
US police are being investigated for laughing at the death of an Indian female student who was hit by a police car. An investigation is underway into the bodycam footage.
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| Shocking body cam footage shows a police officer laughing about a woman who was struck and killed by a patrol car in Seattle (Photo: Seattle Police) |
Daniel Auderer was the officer responding to the incident in which Jaahnavi Kandula (23) was killed near his university.
Jaahnavi, a graduate student at Northeastern University, was hit to death by a police patrol car
As reported by the BBC, Thursday (09/14/2023), in a video circulating officers can be heard saying that the life of the student from Andhra Pradesh, India, has "limited value" and the city government should "only write checks".
Meanwhile, the officer in question admitted that his comments were taken out of context.
Jaahnavi, a graduate student at Northeastern University, was hit to death by a police patrol car while crossing the road on Jan. 23.
According to The Seattle Times, which cited a police investigation report, the officer driving the car was traveling at 119km/h and Jaahnavi's body was thrown more than 30 metres away.
Also, read: Spicy Paqui's 'One Chip Challenge' Pulled From Shelves After Death Of A Teenager.
Auderer was summoned following the incident and a camera attached to his body recorded a conversation he had with his partner.
"But he's dead," he told colleagues by phone before laughing.
"No, it's an ordinary person. Yes, just write a check," he said, before laughing again.
"Eleven thousand dollars. He is 26 years old anyway. The value is limited."
Auderer, who is a union leader with the Seattle Police Department, was reportedly on the phone with Mike Solan, the union's president. Solan's audio cannot be heard.
The Seattle Police Department issued a statement on Monday (11/9) saying that they learned of the conversation from an employee (police) who listened to it during routine activities.
"The employee was concerned about the nature of the statement and raised their concerns the chain of command," the Seattle Police Department said in a statement.
"Seattle Police Officer Daniel Auderer was caught laughing at 23-year-old graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula, who was run over and killed by his partner, Officer Kevin Dave, on January 23," X wrote@MariettaDaviz
"Body camera footage released Monday shows Seattle Police Department Officer Daniel Auderer laughing and joking about the death of Jaahnavi Kandula, a 23-year-old Northeastern graduate student who was hit and killed by a police car in January," X wrote@elicurwin
"Jaahnavi Kandula from Andhra Pradesh is studying in America. He was killed in January 2023 after being hit by a speeding police car.
The bodycam video of Detective Daniel Auderer, Vice President of the Seattle Police Officers' Union, went viral on social media. He was heard laughing about his death & saying, 'He was 26 years old..... He has limited value.... just give me USD 11,000.'
What is how cheap is Indian life? Imagine the international outrage if an Indian police officer made a statement like this about a foreigner being killed in India," the account owner wrote@SaffronQueen_
Related Police Officer Claims
Officials then referred the matter to the Police Accountability Office, which investigates police misconduct.
"The agency is investigating the context in which the statement was made and whether any policies were violated," the Seattle Police Department said.
Conservative radio host at KTTH-AM, Jason Rantz, reported that he had obtained an affidavit from Auderer claiming that his comments were meant to mimic how city lawyers tried to minimize responsibility for Jaahnavi's death.
"I laugh at the ridiculousness of how this incident went to court," Auderer wrote, according to KTTH radio.
The Seattle Community Police Commission, another watchdog, described the bodycam footage as "heartbreaking and deeply insensitive".
Victoria Beach, chair of the African-American Community Advisory Council, told local media she was shocked, emotional, and disgusted by the bodycam footage.
"I was very disturbed because someone could laugh at someone who had died," he said.
The King County Prosecutor's Office is conducting a criminal review of the crash that killed Jaahnavi.