A Seattle police officer is under investigation after his body-worn camera captured a phone conversation following the death of a woman who was fatally struck by a police car in which the officer is laughing and says the victim \u201chad limited value,\u201d according to the footage and a statement from the Seattle Police Department.
The officer, Daniel Auderer, was dispatched to a crash scene on January 23 after another officer hit and killed 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk while responding to a call, according to police documents. Auderer, who is trained as a \u201cdrug recognition expert,\u201d was sent to see if the officer who struck Kandula was impaired, the documents said.
The next day, Auderer\u2019s body-worn camera recorded the phone call in which Auderer discusses what happened. Only Auderer\u2019s side of the conversation can be heard in the footage, which police released Monday.
In the footage, Auderer can be heard explaining how he thinks the victim was hit and then says, \u201cBut she is dead.\u201d He laughs, apparently in response to a comment made by the person on the phone. \u201cNo, it\u2019s a regular person,\u201d Auderer says. Moments later, he replies, \u201cYeah, just write a check\u201d and laughs again before adding, \u201cYeah, $11,000. She was 26 anyway,\u201d incorrectly stating Kandula\u2019s age. \u201cShe had limited value.\u201d
Auderer, who is the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, was reportedly speaking to union president Mike Solan, according to the co-chairs of the Seattle Community Police Commission, which provides oversight of the city\u2019s police department. They added that the comments were \u201cheartbreaking and shockingly insensitive.\u201d
CNN has reached out to Auderer, Solan and the Seattle Police Officers Guild for comment.
Auderer has reportedly said his comments about the woman\u2019s value were intended to be a mockery of city lawyers, according to conservative KTTH talk radio host Jason Rantz, who says his show obtained a document in which Auderer self-reported his comments to the police department after realizing they had been recorded.
\u201cI was imitating what a lawyer tasked with negotiating the case would be saying and being sarcastic to express that they shouldn\u2019t be coming up with crazy arguments to minimize the payment,\u201d Auderer wrote in the document, according to Rantz.
Auderer said the comments were \u201cnot made with malice,\u201d according to Rantz.
\u201cI do understand that if a citizen were to hear it that they would rightfully believe I was being insensitive to the loss of a human life,\u201d Auderer reportedly wrote.
\u201cThe reported explanation that he was mocking lawyers does not make this unprofessional and inhumane conduct any better because it shows \u2026 a callous dismissiveness toward police accountability systems,\u201d the community police commission co-chairs said.
The police department said in the Monday statement that the footage was discovered \u201cin the routine course of business by a department employee\u201d and passed through the chain of command to the chief\u2019s office. The footage was referred to the police department\u2019s Office of Police Accountability \u201cfor investigation into the context in which those statements were made and any policy violation that might be implicated,\u201d the statement said.
The department \u201chas been in touch with the family of the victim pedestrian and continues to honor their expressed request for privacy. As others in the accountability system proceed with their work, we again extend our deepest sympathy for this tragic collision,\u201d the statement said.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney\u2019s Office confirmed to CNN that it is conducting a criminal review of the fatal crash but said the Office of Police Accountability is responsible for investigating Auderer\u2019s body camera footage.
The Indian Consulate General in San Francisco on Wednesday called for a \u201cthorough investigation\u201d into Kandula\u2019s death.
\u201cRecent reports including in media of the handling of Ms Jaahnavi Kandula\u2019s death in a road accident in Seattle in January are deeply troubling,\u201d the consulate wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.
The consulate said it has contacted local authorities and senior officials in Washington, DC, about the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n