Rallygoers demand accountability in death of Jaahnavi Kandula, callous comments

More than 200 people took to the Seattle intersection Thursday where a 23-year-old student was fatally struck by an officer’s cruiser early this year, calling for accountability for the officer who hit her and for a police union leader’s callous comments about the crash.

Body-camera footage released this week depicts Officer Daniel Auderer, vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, joking with the rank-and-file police union’s president after the Jan. 23 crash that killed Jaahnavi Kandula in South Lake Union.

Auderer’s comments, including saying Kandula “had limited value” and suggesting the department should “just write a check” for $11,000, have elicited condemnations in Seattle and internationally. The Consulate General of India in San Francisco called the tape “deeply troubling,” and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal and other local officials have spoken out, describing the comments as inhumane and devaluing Kandula’s life.

Participants at the rally called for Auderer and the officer who struck Kandula to resign. Signs read “Jail killer cops,” “Justice for Jaahnavi,” and “End police terror.” People living in nearby apartments came to join the crowd, which grew throughout the evening.

Seattle resident Rafael McPeek said he hoped to send a message that police officers can’t get away with killing someone while speeding through city streets or making comments questioning the value of someone’s life.

“It’s absolutely disgusting,” said McPeek, a member of the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which organized the rally.

Another rallygoer, Kyla Carrillo, expressed anger at the number of months that have elapsed without accountability for Kandula’s death. Carillo said she remembered attending a protest in January after Kandula’s was killed, adding that she and others gathered won’t stop until Kandula receives justice and can then rest in peace.

“I don’t understand how many times SPD can show us they don’t care about people’s lives,” she said.

She referenced another recent case where officers kept a mock tombstone of a young Black man killed by police, Damarius Butts, in a break room.

“This is not the first time someone SPD makes a mockery of someone’s death,” the 25-year-old said.

On Jan. 23, Kandula had been at a crosswalk when Seattle police officer Kevin Dave struck her. Dave was on the way to a report of an overdose and was driving at 74 mph. Kandula was thrown over 100 feet and died later that night. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is currently conducting a criminal review of the crash.

In the bodycam footage released Monday, Auderer laughed about the deadly crash during a call with SPOG President Mike Solan. He is heard dismissing implications the officer might be at fault or the need for a criminal investigation.

During the two-minute conversation Auderer, who was responding to the collision, said to write a check for $11,000. Misstating Kandula’s age, he said “she was 26 anyway, she had limited value.”

Kandula was set to graduate this December with a master’s in information systems from the Seattle campus of Northeastern University and had been supporting her single mother living in India. The family, reeling from the tragedy, has had to make arrangements to send Kandula’s body back to her mother.

Some Seattle leaders have also called for increased police accountability following the release of the recording. The Consulate General of India in San Francisco took to X, formerly Twitter, pushing local and national officials to carry out “thorough investigation and action against those involved in this tragic case.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.