On Wednesday, Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave admitted to driving negligently when he struck and killed 23-year-old school pupil Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk final yr. In alternate for Dave admitting to the quotation, agreeing to pay a $5,000 wonderful, and attending driving faculty, the Seattle Metropolis Legal professional’s Workplace (CAO) requested the court docket to waive a 90-day license suspension for Dave.
The killing of Kandula garnered worldwide headlines after the body-cam video of Seattle Police Officer and police union Vice President Daniel Auderer cackling at her dying grew to become public. The Seattle Police Division has since fired Auderer, and Dave’s self-discipline for his involvement in Kandula’s dying is pending. Auderer has since filed a $20 million lawsuit towards the town.
At Wednesday’s listening to, Seattle Municipal Courtroom (SMC) Choose Noah Weil accepted the negotiated settlement between the Metropolis and Dave, however added a situation for Dave to finish 40 hours of group service. The penalty pointers for negligent driving permit for a decide to require as much as 100 hours of group service, however Weil famous that as a legislation enforcement officer Dave “does contribute to the group.”
“However I do need to acknowledge the affect this offense has had on the group as effectively, and so I’m going to require 40 hours of group service,” Weil stated.
Dave has 30 days to pay his $5,000 wonderful and about 9 months to meet the court-ordered situations of his sentence. Below the settlement with prosecutors, he can keep away from a license suspension so long as he commits no new legal site visitors offenses over the subsequent yr and complies with all his different sentencing situations.
Dave’s legal professional didn’t instantly return a request for remark. CAO spokesperson Tim Robinson pointed The Stranger to the court docket data and stated the CAO’s workplace dealt with Dave’s case like some other cost of negligent driving within the second diploma with a weak individual. Robinson is appropriate that related costs typically end in no license suspension and, in some circumstances, the CAO could dismiss the ticket, even when a pedestrian’s dying is concerned. Nonetheless, Dave’s place as a police officer shielded him from dealing with extra critical costs, as state legislation permits officers to exceed the velocity restrict whereas responding to emergency calls.
Earlier this yr, the King County Prosecuting Legal professional’s Workplace (KCPAO) declined to cost Dave with a felony vehicular murder within the dying of Kandula. Their investigation decided that on January 23, 2023, Dave hit Kandula whereas touring at about 63 miles per hour as she crossed in a crosswalk on the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Road in South Lake Union. Seconds earlier than Dave noticed her crossing, he hit speeds of as much as 74 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. Dave tried to interrupt a second earlier than hitting her. Investigators concluded that had Dave traveled at speeds nearer to 50 miles per hour, he might have prevented hitting Kandula. After hitting her, Dave started CPR.
The KCPAO discovered they may not cost Dave as they may not show past an inexpensive doubt that he “consciously” drove with “reckless disregard for the protection of others.” After the KCPAO declined to prosecute, they bounced the case again to the Seattle Police Division, who referred the case to the CAO’s workplace as a quotation.
With Dave’s court docket penalties mainly wrapped up, he nonetheless awaits a disciplinary resolution from SPD related to the killing of Kandula. In early November, the Workplace of Police Accountability concluded its investigation into Dave, discovering he violated SPD’s insurance policies round driving and never breaking the legislation, however Interim Chief of Police Sue Rahr has but to determine on closing self-discipline for Dave. Since Kandula’s dying, Publicola has uncovered intensive examples of Dave’s poor driving historical past and a earlier firing from one other police division, all of which SPD knew previous to hiring him.
