A Seattle police officer has finally been terminated for making “dehumanizing laughter” and “cruel comments” following the tragic death of an Indian graduate student in 2023. The officer’s remarks, captured on body-worn camera footage, sparked outrage nationwide and prompted demands for justice.
On January 23, 2023, 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula, a graduate student from Andhra Pradesh, India, was fatally struck by a police patrol vehicle while crossing a crosswalk. The incident itself was already a cause for concern, but what followed in the aftermath was even more disturbing.
Eight months after the incident, the Seattle Police Department released the body-worn camera footage, which captured a phone conversation involving former officer Daniel Auderer. In the footage, Auderer can be heard making derogatory remarks and laughing callously about Kandula’s death.
Auderer, who is also the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, claimed that his comments were intended to mock lawyers. In a letter to the city’s Office of Police Accountability, he stated that he was imitating what a lawyer tasked with negotiating the case would say. However, his explanation did not justify his insensitive behavior.
Seattle interim Police Chief Sue Rahr took swift action and terminated Auderer on Wednesday. In an internal email to the department, Chief Rahr justified her decision and attached the department’s disciplinary action report.
The release of the video last year led to numerous rallies, meetings with elected officials, and online petitions demanding justice for Kandula. Prominent celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, and Lilly Singh also spoke out about her tragic death.
The city’s Office of Police Accountability conducted an investigation and recommended Auderer’s termination. The investigation found that the officer had violated the department’s standards and duties policy as well as the bias-free policing policy.
