Seattle’s interim police chief fired one of her officers after she says he made “cruel comments” and “dehumanizing laughter” following the death of a grad student hit by a police vehicle.
Body cam footage taken of the accident last year shows Detective Daniel Auderer joking and laughing about a fellow officer hitting and killing Jaahnavi Kandula, a student from Andhra Pradesh, India.
Fox13 reports Auderer was speaking to Seattle Police Officers Guild president Mike Solan. Auderer is Vice President of the Guild.
“There is no doubt that the named officer’s cruel comments and callous laughter about the tragic death caused deep pain to Ms. Kandula’s family, but also immeasurable damage to the public trust of police in the Seattle community, across the nation, and around the world,” interim Police Chief Sue Rahr wrote in the internal memo, reported CNN.
According to CNN, Auderer is heard on the video saying Kandula’s life had “limited value.” Auderer would later say he meant the comment as a mockery of lawyers.
Seattle’s Mayor Bruce Harrell, who is multiracial of Black and Japanese American descent, released a statement in support of Rahr’s decision.
“This incident damaged the public trust we have been working to strengthen since Day One of my administration,” Harrell said.
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