A US police officer has been dismissed for making insensitive remarks about the death of an Indian student, stating her life was of “limited value.”
According to The Seattle Times, the Seattle Police Department condemned officer Daniel Auderer’s comments about Jaahnavi Kandula’s death as “vile” and callous.
Kandula, 23, was killed by a police vehicle in January while crossing a street near her university.
Mr. Auderer, who attended to the event, was caught chuckling and dismissively referring to her as a “regular person,” implying that the city should “just write a cheque.”
The remarks were captured on his body camera during a call with a colleague.
“But she is dead,” Mr. Auderer was heard saying before laughing. “No, it’s a regular person. Yeah, just write a cheque,” he continued, laughing again.
“Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value,” he added.
The video was extensively circulated on social media, causing chaos.
Mr. Auderer’s dismissal was announced by Seattle Police Department interim chief Sue Rahr in an email to the entire department on Wednesday.
She stated that Mr. Auderer’s actions had brought shame to the entire department and the police profession.
She added that his “cruel and callous laughter” and the pain it inflicted on Kandula’s family could not outweigh his good reputation among colleagues and years of service to the community.
“For me to allow the officer to remain on our force would only bring further dishonor to the entire department. For that reason, I am going to terminate his employment,” she said.
Mr. Auderer was placed under inquiry following the event.
The Seattle Times stated that the Office of Police Accountability, which examines police misconduct, recommended Mr. Auderer’s removal for unprofessional conduct and bias in recorded statements.
Jaahnavi Kandula was a graduate student at Seattle’s Northeastern University.
According to US media sources, the officer who hit her with his patrol vehicle was travelling at 74 mph (119 km/h) and threw her more than 100 feet (30 metres).