Consulate General of India in San Francisco has raised concerns over the handling of an Indian-origin woman, Jaahnavi Kandula, who was killed by a police vehicle, and has also demanded a through investigation and action against those involved. Jaahnavi Kandula, daughter of a single mother hailed from Andhra Pradesh. She was pursuing her master's degree at Northeastern University in Seattle and went to the US in 2021 from Bengaluru on a student exchange program.
Her uncle Ashok Mandula had told Seattle Times in January that Jaahnavi was due to graduate in December this year. On 23 January, Kevin Dave struck and killed Jaahnavi Kandula, 23, in a crosswalk. Dave was driving 74 mph (119 kmh) on the way to an overdose call, and Auderer, a drug recognition expert, was assigned to evaluate whether Dave was impaired, The Seattle Times reported.
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. In the video, Auderer can be heard saying "she is dead" before bursting out into laughter.
Referring to Kandula, Auderer said, "No, it’s a regular person." Towards the end of the clip, he can be heard saying, through bursts of laughter, "Yeah, just write a check. Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway," misstating the age of the victim.
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