Seattle cop who laughed at woman’s death was subject of 29 oversight cases, part of $1.7M suit: reports
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Seattle cop who laughed at woman’s death was subject of 29 oversight cases, part of $1.7M suit: reports
Carl Samson 3-3 minutes 9/15/2023
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The Seattle police officer heard laughing and making questionable remarks on bodycam footage about the death of a woman earlier this year has been the subject of 18 other oversight investigations, according to reports.
Driving the news: The Seattle Police Department (SPD) released this week the footage involving Officer Daniel Auderer, which was recorded shortly after the incident on the night of Jan. 23. Auderer, who is currently vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, was responding to the fatal striking of 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula by another police car, driven by Officer Kevin Dave, near Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street.
In his bodycam footage, Auderer can be heard laughing and making insensitive comments about Kandula, including saying that she had “limited value” and advising someone to “just write a check.” Auderer was in the car with the guild’s president, Officer Mike Solan, who is not heard in the recording.
What reports are saying: Web database OpenOversight , which collects information on police disciplinary actions, shows that Auderer was involved in 29 cases brought to the Office of Police Accountability (OPA), a city watchdog agency, between 2014 and 2021. Of these, 19 led to OPA investigations, which resulted in some allegations being sustained and Auderer receiving disciplinary actions such as written reprimand and suspension without pay .
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Meanwhile, DivestSPD , a grassroots police watchdog, claims that Auderer was involved in “lawsuits costing the city over $1.7 million.” It is unclear what exactly these cases are, but previous reports, including from the Seattle Times and KOMO News , say Seattle paid $1.75 million in 2013 to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed over a violent arrest that reportedly involved Auderer and other officers.
Rally held: A rally was held Thursday in the area where Kandula — an Indian graduate student at Northeastern University Seattle — was fatally hit. This time, protesters demanded action to be taken against Auderer, as well as Solan, according to KIRO 7 .
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The cop in question is heard saying that the city should just pay her family 11,000 dollars because as a 26 year old her life was of "limited value".
And of course he is heard laughing (more than once) when talking about her death. The young woman was hit by a different police car as she was crossing a Seattle street. The police car that hit her was said to be responding to a "medical emergency".
It's a tough call, but I think firing him would be justified. Police do engage in macabre humor at times, as do firemen. They probably have to to keep their sanity in extreme situations like the death of a civilian caused by a cop driver.
Some nervous laughing might be understandable, but saying her life was of "limited value" goes too far. He may not have the psychological makeup to make a good cop.
Sad POS, IMO.