SEATTLE (AP) – Seattle’s interim police chief said Monday he has fired an officer who fatally shot a 2023 Indian graduate student while responding to a drug-related call.
Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr, in an email to employees, said she fired Kevin Dave after the Seattle Police Department found he violated four department policies, including a felony conviction for operating a patrol car, the Seattle Times reported. .
“I believe this officer did not intend to harm anyone that night and was trying to get to a drug victim as soon as possible,” Rahr wrote. “However, I cannot accept the painful consequences of his dangerous driving. His good intentions do not mitigate the bad decision that caused the loss of life and brought the Seattle Police Department into disrepute. “
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A message sent to the Seattle Police Officers Guild, the police union, through the group’s website by the Associated Press was not immediately returned. Efforts to reach Dave were unsuccessful.
Rahr’s announcement comes a year after King County prosecutors said they would not prosecute Dave, citing sufficient evidence to prove beyond a doubt that Dave was reckless in the crash that killed Jaahnavi Kandula.
The Seattle City Attorney’s Office later fined Dave $5,000 for reckless driving. City prosecutors say Dave was driving 74 mph (119 kph) on a 25 mph (40 kph) road before hitting Kandula. After initially contesting the ticket, Dave recently agreed to pay it, complete an eight-hour traffic safety course over the course of a year and perform 40 hours of community service by Sept. 30, municipal court records show.
Kandula’s death sparked outrage, especially after a dashcam footage of another officer emerged, in which the officer laughed and suggested that Kandula’s life had “limited value” and the city should “just write a check.” Indian politicians want an investigation. The city’s citizen services unit found the comments of Officer Daniel Auderer, a former union leader, damaged the department’s reputation and undermined public trust. Auderer was later fired.
Kandula’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and Dave.