A Seattle police officer was fired after making insensitive comments about a woman’s death. Officer Daniel Auderer was caught on body camera laughing and saying that the life of a woman named Jaahnavi Kandula, who was killed by another officer’s patrol car, had “limited value.”
The incident happened on January 23, 2023, when Auderer was called to check if the officer who hit Kandula was impaired. Kandula, who was 23, was struck while she was in a crosswalk.
Body camera footage released in September showed Auderer making these comments, which led to public outrage. Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr said Auderer’s behavior damaged the reputation of the Seattle Police Department and betrayed public trust.
Rahr explained that even though Auderer was respected by some within the department, his actions were too harmful to ignore. She said his words inflicted lasting pain on Kandula’s family and brought shame to the police force.
Auderer could not be reached for comment, and it was unclear if he still had a role with the police officers’ guild, where he was a vice president.
The comments were made while Auderer was on the phone with a colleague and his body camera was still recording. He mistakenly thought the camera was off when he laughed about the incident and made comments about the financial compensation for Kandula’s death.
The guild claimed that Auderer’s remarks were taken out of context and explained that he was sarcastically mimicking what a lawyer might say during a settlement negotiation.
The disciplinary report noted that this was the third time Auderer had broken department rules. After the incident, he turned off his body camera when he realized it was still recording. The officer who hit Kandula was fined for negligent driving but faced no criminal charges.