Death of Jaahnavi Kandula, 23, from India, ignited outrage after fellow officer was recorded making ‘appalling’ remarks about case
Prosecutors in Washington state said on Wednesday they will not file felony charges against a Seattle police officer who struck and killed a graduate student from India while responding to an overdose call – a case that attracted widespread attention after another officer was recorded making callous remarks about it.
Officer Kevin Dave was driving 74mph (119km/h) on a street with a 25mph (40km/h) speed limit in a police SUV before he hit 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk on 23 January 2023.
In a memo to the Seattle police department on Wednesday, the King county prosecutor’s office noted that Dave had on his emergency lights, that other pedestrians reported hearing his siren, and that Kandula appeared to try to run across the intersection after seeing his vehicle approaching. She might also have been wearing wireless earbuds that could have diminished her hearing, they noted.
For those reasons, a felony charge of vehicular homicide was not warranted. “There is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Dave was consciously disregarding safety,” the memo said.
It can be both: the officer could have been operating within the bounds of his responsibility, the victim could have been in a state with diminished hearing, and the tragic accident could be just that; AND the other officer could be a monumental racist shitbag who hates people and needs to lose his job and address that racism.
We can regret that this accident occured even as we hate the racist cop who disparaged the deceased and disrespected her as a person.
Good comment. Fucking sucks in all ways, especially for her family. Poor kid.
Kinda funny how you think she is a kid but the POS police officer thinks she was too old and therefore had “limited value”.
Ugh, the juxtaposition makes him even that much more evil