The Seattle police officer who struck and killed student Jaahnavi Kandula while responding to an emergency call has committed a traffic violation.
Some rights groups and local residents have lashed out against the city attorney’s ruling, as prosecutors confirmed Friday that Officer Kevin Dave will not face criminal charges.
Dave’s police car was traveling at 75 mph on the way to an overdose call when it fatally struck 23-year-old Kandula at a crosswalk in South Lake Union in January 2023.
City Attorney Ann Davison filed the traffic violation charge against Dave in Seattle Municipal Court after prosecutors found no evidence that he was impaired or driving recklessly at the time.
The 35-year-old officer faces a fine of up to $5,000 for a second-degree negligent driving violation.
The Seattle police officer who struck and killed student Jaahnavi Kandula (pictured) while responding to an emergency call has committed a traffic violation
Bodycam footage shows Kevin Dave performing CPR on the victim in the office shortly after he hit her with his cruiser on January 23 last year
Some rights groups and locals have lashed out against the city attorney’s ruling, as prosecutors confirmed Friday that Officer Kevin Dave (pictured) will not face criminal charges
Campaigners have accused the lawyer of ‘reducing’ Kandula’s life to a ‘traffic offence’. “She was a human being who deserved to live,” someone wrote on X.
A petition demanding that the officer be tried for manslaughter in Washington state has attracted 234,408 signatures.
The case sparked protests last year after video surfaced of a Seattle police union official laughing as he spoke at the scene about Kandula’s death.
Officer Daniel Auderer downplayed the information technology student’s death in the shocking clip, saying her life had “limited value,” while adding that the city simply needed to “write a check.”
Kandula recently graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in information technology
Auderer later admitted he “messed up,” and Seattle police commanders recommended he be suspended. A disciplinary hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Organizers of the petition calling for a manslaughter trial also said Auderer should be fired.
Speaking about Kandula, the petition reads: ‘Not only was she mowed down like nothing, but the officers’ conversations after the event are completely disgraceful and a disgrace to humanity.
“We demand that these officers be dismissed from their positions, without pensions, and that this incident be treated as manslaughter and prosecuted.
‘The officer in action, and the supervisor both, must be investigated.
‘Jaahnavi was NOTHING. She has a family in India, a mother waiting for her daughter to come home for Diwali or Christmas.
‘Her mother, a teacher, who incurred enormous financial debt to send her daughter to the US in the hope of a better life: to a country she thought was the land of opportunity, and the greatest country in the world!
‘Let us affirm the greatness of our country and prove that we still practice “liberty and justice for all”! Action must be taken.
“The disgraced officers must be held accountable for their racist, dehumanized and unethical comments and behavior.”
Detective Daniel Auderer is a drug recognition officer, who was assigned to determine if Dave was under the influence. He concluded that his colleague was sober. In one video, he is heard laughing and making insensitive comments about Kandula’s death
Footage shows Dave driving his police car at a speed of 75 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone before crashing into Kandula.
The student had crossed the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street near campus on January 23, 2023. She died in hospital a day later.
Dave was heard calling the radio control room for support after reports of a pedestrian being struck. He was seen resuscitating the young woman until several other first responders arrived on the scene.
Police ruled the incident an accident and the officer returned to duty days later.
The bodycam footage was first published by Publicola. According to the news station, the King County Prosecutor’s Office is still deciding whether Dave will be charged with a crime.
The intersection’s crosswalks are heavily marked by bright yellow reflective indicators, a large neon sign and are surrounded by bike lanes and a wide median.
The officer was heard on bodycam telling a responding officer, “The lights were on. I chirped the sirens…she was standing in the crosswalk.”
‘She saw me and started running across the crosswalk. Hit my breaks. She stayed where she was supposed to before crossing.”
The video showed the officer driving through a red light and slowing down slightly before hitting the young woman.
Dave was on his way to a priority one call, classified as the highest importance of calls, according to the police department. The call was regarding a man who had overdosed on drugs but did not need to be taken to the hospital.
The video recording also showed intermittent sirens coming from the officer’s patrol car, which were not continuous.
Police said they were not investigating the wreck as an assault case and noted they did not believe the officer intended to hit Kandula.
“At this point in the investigation, we have no reason to believe the officer intended to strike the woman,” a Seattle police spokesperson said earlier.
Dave has been working as an officer since November 2019, according to the department.
A petition demanding that the officer be tried for manslaughter in Washington state has attracted 234,408 signatures
The case came into the spotlight last year after video surfaced of a Seattle police union official laughing as he spoke about Kandula’s death at the scene.
A photo of Jaahnavi Kandula is shown with flowers, January 29, 2023 in Seattle
Police said the officer was not suspended but was only told to leave his shift after the crash as a “release day” to deal with a “traumatic or disturbing” experience.
Kandula was a graduate student about to receive her master’s degree in information systems. Her family remembered her as a “brilliant” person.
Her family said her death left a “big hole” in the hearts of people who knew her.
‘We are truly heartbroken. Jaahnavi was a brilliant student with a bright future. Jaahnavi’s smile beamed and her bubbly personality warmed the hearts of everyone she came in contact with.
“She had an innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life,” they said in a statement.
“Jaahnavi’s tragic and untimely death has left her family and community with a huge hole in their hearts that will never be repaired. She was the daughter of a single mother who taught at a primary school in India.
“Despite earning less than $200 a month, her mother educated Jaahnavi and encouraged her to come to the United States in hopes that Jaahnavi would have a better future and a better life abroad. Her mother’s hopes and dreams have now been shattered.”
A GoFundMe was set up to help her family pay Ms Kandula’s hospital bills, as well as the student loans she took out for her education.
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