In January 2023, Indian (Telugu) student Jaahnavi Kandula (23) was struck by a police car driven by Seattle police officer Kevin Dave while she was crossing a street. Dave was in route to a report of a drug overdose call when he reached 74 mph (more than 119 km/h). The police patrol car hit Jaahnavi Kandula, who was flung 100 feet in the air.
Jaahnavi Kandula, daughter of a single mother hailed from Andhra Pradesh. She was pursuing her master's degree at Northeastern University in Seattle and went to the US in 2021 from Bengaluru on a student exchange program.
In body-cam footage released by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer laughed about the deadly crash and remarked that "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 Disciplinary Action Report said.
In an internal communication, Seattle Police Department Interim Chief Sue Rahr stated that what Auderer's remarks have caused to Jaahnavi Kandula's family cannot be undone.
The Seattle Police Department and our profession as a whole have been embarrassed by the acts of one police officer, which has made it harder for all police officers to do their jobs. Rahr stated that it is her responsibility as the organization's leader to sustain the high standards required to keep the public's 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.