A Seattle police officer, Daniel Auderer, has been terminated from his position after making insensitive comments about the death of Jaahnavi Kandula, an Indian graduate student who was killed in January.
The Seattle Police Department described Auderer’s remarks as “vile” and “callous,” according to The Seattle Times.
Kandula, 23, was struck and killed by a police vehicle while crossing the street near her university.
Auderer, who was responding to the incident, was recorded on his body camera making derogatory remarks about Kandula’s death.
The footage shows Auderer laughing and saying, “But she is dead. No, it’s a regular person. Yeah, just write a cheque,” before continuing to laugh.
He further commented, “Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.”
The video, which circulated widely on social media, provoked significant outrage and distress.
On Wednesday, Seattle’s interim police chief, Sue Rahr, announced Auderer’s dismissal in a department-wide email.
Rahr stated that Auderer’s actions had brought shame upon the police department and undermined the integrity of the police profession.
Rahr emphasized that the officer’s “cruel and callous laughter” and the harm it caused Kandula’s family outweighed any positive aspects of Auderer’s reputation and service.
“For me to allow the officer to remain on our force would only bring further dishonour to the entire department,” she said.
Auderer had been under investigation following the incident. The Office of Police Accountability, which reviews police misconduct, had recommended his termination due to unprofessional conduct and biased statements.
Kandula, a graduate student at Northeastern University in Seattle, was struck by a patrol vehicle traveling at 74 mph (119 km/h), which caused her to be thrown more than 100 feet (30 meters).
Source-BBC
