Seattle Police Division (SPD) Interim Chief of Police Sue Rahr introduced she’d fired SPD Officer Kevin Dave in an inner e mail Monday. The choice comes as the results of a January 2023 collision during which Dave struck and killed 23-year-old school scholar Jaahnavi Kandula whereas she was crossing a crosswalk.
In her e mail, Rahr acknowledged that she believed Dave didn’t intend to harm anybody when he drove 74 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone seconds earlier than hanging Kandula. Rahr mentioned she believed Dave was attempting to reply as rapidly as attainable to a name a couple of attainable overdose. Nevertheless, Rahr mentioned she couldn’t settle for the “penalties of his harmful driving.”
“His optimistic intent doesn’t mitigate the poor choice that precipitated the lack of a human life and introduced discredit to the Seattle Police Division,” Rahr wrote. Rahr added that she understood some within the division may disagree along with her choice.
Rahr wrote that the Workplace of Police Accountability decided Dave’s actions on the night time of Kandula’s demise violated SPD insurance policies round driving and following the regulation. Rahr mentioned she hoped that her demise would function a reminder of the hazard that’s created when officers use extreme velocity whereas responding to emergency calls. In response to a request for remark in regards to the firing, an SPD spokesperson instantly confirmed the firing and forwarded a replica of Rahr’s e mail to The Stranger.
Final yr, the King County Prosecuting Lawyer (PAO) declined to file fees in opposition to Dave. After the PAO declined the case, the Seattle Metropolis Lawyer’s Workplace slapped Dave with a ticket for negligent driving within the case, a civil infraction for which he incurred a $5,000 tremendous, should full a brief stint in driving college, and serve some neighborhood service.
In September, the Seattle Occasions reported that Kandula’s household filed a lawsuit in opposition to each Dave and the Metropolis over her demise. The household’s attorneys additionally didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Since Kandula’s demise, Publicola has doggedly unearthed a litany of examples of Dave’s sketchy driving historical past, in addition to his firing from the Tucson Police Division, all of which SPD officers knew about earlier than they employed him.
Kandula’s demise additionally led to the firing of former Seattle police union Vice-President Officer Daniel Auderer, who’s body-worn video captured him discussing her demise as he responded to the collision on January 23, 2023. Within the video, Auderer known as Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan and informed him {that a} girl had died, after which talked a couple of fictional future settlement settlement, saying, “Yeah, simply write a verify. Simply, yeah [laughter]. $11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had restricted worth.” He adopted his assertion with what the OPA report described as “4 minutes of full-bellied pronounced laughter.” Auderer’s remark precipitated worldwide outrage.
Rahr fired Auderer in July 2024 and known as his feedback “merciless” and his laughter “callous.” Auderer has since filed a $20 million tort declare in opposition to the Metropolis.
It is a creating story.
