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.
I absolutely reserve judgment. It sounds like a brief investigation to come to the conclusion they wanted, but that doesn’t mean that’s the case. It could be just a tragic accident.
It’s obviously an accident. The issue is it was a negligent accident. 75 in a 25 is an insane speed. It’s his job to get to the scene quickly, it’s not his job to endanger the public while doing so.
The fucking military takes more care around foreigners than American cops do around Americans. I’m sick of them getting away with this bullshit. And I’m sick of no one doing any about the intentionally destructive training they get.