- Thursday, April 10, 2025
India’s consulate in Seattle also said it was monitoring the progress in the case and will extend all possible support in ensuring justice for Kandula and her family.
By: Shubham Ghosh
FOLLOWING the prosecution attorney’s words that the police officer in Seattle who hit an Indian student while overspeeding resulting in her death, will not face criminal charges due to lack of “sufficient” evidence, the Indian consulate in the city in the US state of Washington raised the matter with authorities in a bid to ensure that the family of the student gets justice.
Jaahnavi Kandula, who was 23-year-old and hailed from the Indian city of Hyderabad, was struck by a police vehicle driven by officer Kevin Dave while crossing a street in Seattle on January 23 last year.
He was driving 74 mph (more than 119 km/h) on the way to a report of a drug overdose call. Kandula, who was pursuing a master’s degree at Northeastern University, was thrown 100 feet and died instantly.
In bodycam footage released by the Seattle Police Department, officer Daniel Auderer, who was dispatched to assist in the fatality collision, was heard laughing about Kandula’s death and dismissed any implication Dave might be at fault or that a criminal investigation was necessary.
On Wednesday (21), the King County prosecutor’s office said they would not move forward with criminal charges against Dave due to a lack of evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.
India’s consulate in Seattle also said it was monitoring the progress in the case and will extend all possible support in ensuring justice for Kandula and her family.
“On the recently released investigation report of the King County Prosecution Attorney on the unfortunate death of Jaahnavi Kandula, the Consulate has been in regular touch with the designated family representatives and will continue to extend all possible support in ensuring justice for Jaahnavi and her family,” the mission said in a post on X on Friday (23).
“We have also raised the matter strongly with local authorities, including Seattle Police for appropriate redress. The case has now been referred to the Seattle City Attorney’s office for review,” the post added.
On the recently released investigation report of the King County Prosecution Attorney on the unfortunate death of Jaahnavi Kandula, Consulate has been in regular touch with the designated family representatives and will continue to extend all possible support in ensuring justice…
— India In Seattle (@IndiainSeattle) February 23, 2024
Kandula’s family in India expressed shock over the outcome.
In a statement following the announcement by the US officials, it said, “We are shocked and disappointed that the King County Prosecutor’s office has failed to criminally charge the Seattle police officer whose reckless behaviour killed Jaahnavi Kandula.
“We are pursuing our legal rights to obtain justice for Jaahnavi even though the City of Seattle has failed to do so.”
Fox 13 Seattle reported that nearly 100 people gathered outside the Seattle Police West Precinct on Friday to protest the decision by the King County Prosecutor’s Office not to file charges against Dave.
The protesters said there had been a lack of accountability for the officer. The demonstrators accused officers of caring more about themselves than the public, and treating Kandula as if her life didn’t matter.
“They are not public safety, they are a public hazard,” shouted one of the protesters.
“I struggle to understand how these people can go about their day, knowing they refused to let this go to court. It’s baffling,” said Raymond Mitchell, another protester.
In the statement on Wednesday, the King County prosecuting attorney Leesa Manion said, “Kandula’s death is heartbreaking and impacted communities in King County and across the world.”
She said that she believes they lack the evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt, the statement said.
“It is the responsibility of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to review all available evidence relating to the case involving Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave and the January 2023 collision death of Jaahnavi Kandula. After staffing this case with senior deputy prosecuting attorneys and office leadership, I have determined that we lack sufficient evidence under Washington State law to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The statement also said that the prosecutor’s office finds the comments made by Auderer, recorded on his body-worn video, “appalling and deeply troubling”.
Auderer, who was not involved in the collision, was captured in the video saying, “But she is dead” and laughing while on the phone. She was 26 anyway,” Auderer said in the video. “She had limited value.”
“Officer Auderer’s comments were also unprofessional and undermined the public’s trust in the Seattle Police Department and law enforcement in general,” said Manion.
Auderer was pulled from patrol in September 2023 and reassigned to a “non-operational position”.
Auderer could still be fired after the fallout of his insensitive comments captured on bodycam.
Seattle local media reported that speed was the cause of the collision, as the speed at which Dave was travelling did “not allow (Kandula) or him sufficient time to detect, address and avoid a hazard that presented itself”.
Dave was responding to a “priority one” call at the request of the Seattle Fire Department, according to the Seattle Police Department. According to the police report, the officer was responding to a report of a drug overdose.
The officer did not have his siren activated continuously. Instead, the officer “chirped” his siren at the intersection. He did have his emergency lights on, according to a previous statement from the police department.
In a memo to Seattle police, prosecutors wrote there was not enough evidence to prove Dave showed “conscious disregard for others safety”.
A drug recognition expert responded to the scene and found no impairment in the officer.
Former Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist said if a civilian were behind the wheel, this would likely have been vehicular homicide. Dave’s status as an officer changes the calculus.
Lindquist pointed out that the standard of proof is much higher in criminal cases than in civil cases.
(With PTI inputs)
