Officer Daniel Auderer is under investigation after his body camera captured a conversation following the death of a woman who was fatally struck by a police car. He is heard laughing and says the victim “had limited value.” The news has been picked up by almost every online network.
Another officer hit and killed 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula while responding to a call. The phone conversation caught on the body came was Auderer, who was sent to the crash scene to see if the officer who struck Kandula was impaired.
Auderer is heard laughing in response to a comment made about the victim being dead. “No, it’s a regular person,” Auderer is heard saying. “Yeah, just write a check” and “Yeah, $11,000. She was 26 anyway,” as well as, “She had limited value.”
The police department said the footage was referred to the police department’s Office of Police Accountability “for investigation into the context in which those statements were made and any policy violation that might be implicated,” the statement said. And that it “has been in touch with the family of the victim pedestrian and continues to honor their expressed request for privacy. As others in the accountability system proceed with their work, we again extend our deepest sympathy for this tragic collision.”
Auderer reportedly wrote in a document that the comments were “not made with malice.” It also said, “I do understand that if a citizen were to hear it that they would rightfully believe I was being insensitive to the loss of a human life.” His representative said the comments about the woman’s value were intended to be a mockery of city lawyers. The Seattle Community Police Commission, which provides oversight of the city’s police department, said that the comments were “heartbreaking and shockingly insensitive.”
