laughing and saying Jaahnavi Kandula’s life had “limited value” and the city should “just write a check”
A police watchdog agency in Seattle has launched an investigation over comments made by a Seattle PD union leader about the death of an young Indian woman who was killed by a police cruiser in which the union leader could he heard saying her life had ‘limited value’ and the city should ‘write a check’.
“Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway,” Daniel said, stating the student’s age inaccurately. “She had limited value.” Mike’s remarks were not captured in the recording.
Jason Rantz, a talk radio host on KTTH-AM, later said that he had obtained a written statement that Daniel provided to the city’s Office of Police Accountability. Daniel reportedly said in the statement that his remarks were intended to mimic how the city’s attorneys might react to the death. He also said Mike lamented Jaahnavi’s demise.
“I intended the comment as a mockery of lawyers,” Auderer wrote, according to KTTH. “I laughed at the ridiculousness of how these incidents are litigated and the ridiculousness of how I watched these incidents play out as two parties bargain over a tragedy.” Daniel also said that anyone listening to only his side of the conversation alone “would rightfully believe I was being insensitive to the loss of human life.” He added that the comment was “not made with malice or a hard heart,” but “quite the opposite.”
The Seattle Police Departmentwrote on its online blotter that the video “was identified in the routine course of business by a department employee, who, concerned about the nature of statements heard on that video, appropriately escalated their concerns through their chain of command.”
‘I wonder if these men’s daughters or granddaughters have value’
Jaahnavi arrived in Seattlefrom Bengaluru, India, in 2021 to receive a master’s degree, and was pursuing a Master of Science in Information Systems at the College of Engineering. She was set to graduate this December. She was hit at the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street within moments of the car reaching the top speed, according to Fox13 Seattle. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries.
Kevin was reportedly responding to a “high priority” call when the incident took place. He had chirped his siren, but did not have it running consistently, video footage released by prosecutors and published in part by PubliCola revealed. Prosecutors have been weighing charges against Kevin for failing to “warn others of the emergency nature of the situation.” “I f–ked up,” Kevin was heard saying after the incident.
After Jaahnavi’s death, her uncle, Ashok Mandula, of Houston, told The Seattle Times, “The family has nothing to say. Except I wonder if these men’s daughters or granddaughters have value. A life is a life.”