The video of a US cop has taken the internet by storm in which the police personnel is making fun of a deceased Indian student who was hit by a Seattle Police officer’s car. Earlier in January this year, an Indian student, Jaahnavi Kandula was struck and killed by officer Kevin Dave.
The cop could be heard saying, “she’s dead.” He then laughs and says, “it’s a regular person.”. He then went on to say, “Just write a check – $11,000, she was 26 anyway, she had limited value.”
The Seattle Police Department has released a footage from accused officer Daniel Auderer’s body camera. On this, the Consulate General of India in San Francisco has raised concerns over the handling of the case, demanding a thorough investigation and action against those involved.
Jhanvi Kandula, originally from Andhra Pradesh, was hit on a crosswalk by a Seattle cop’s car on January 23. The vehicle was travelling at 74 mph in a 25-mph zone, according to reports. The student from Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh was due to graduate this December from the Northeastern University campus in South Lake Union.
Jhanvi, 23, went to the US from Bengaluru on a student exchange program in 2021 to pursue master’s degree, and she was in her final year of Master of Science in Information Systems at the Engineering college.
Afterward, Auderer left his body-worn camera on as he called guild President Mike Solan to report what happened. In a recording released by the police department on Monday, who serves as vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, is driving and was heard talking about the accident that involved 23-year-old graduate student Kandula in a call with the guild’s president Mike Solan.
Auderer said he did not believe a criminal investigation was being carried out. He said, “I mean, he was going 50 mph. That’s not out of control. That’s not reckless for a trained driver.” However, a police investigation report referred to prosecutors for review last month said Dave was driving at 74 mph, and Kandula was thrown more than 100 feet after the impact.
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco in a post on X called the incident deeply troubling. It wrote, “Recent reports including in the media of the handling of Ms Jaahnavi Kandula’s death in a road accident in Seattle in January are deeply troubling. We have taken up the matter strongly with local authorities in Seattle & Washington State as well as senior officials in Washington DC for a thorough investigation & action against those involved in this tragic case. The Consulate & Embassy will continue to closely follow up on this matter with all concerned authorities.”
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