Daniel Auderer responded to the Jan. 23 crash scene where another officer, Kevin Dave, hit and killed Jaahnavi Kandula, 23, in a crosswalk.
"Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway," Auderer said, inaccurately stating Kandula's age."She had limited value."Neither Auderer nor Solan responded to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The station reported that Auderer acknowledged in the statement that anyone listening to his side of the conversation alone"would rightfully believe I was being insensitive to the loss of human life." The comment was"not made with malice or a hard heart," he said, but"quite the opposite." In a written statement on its online blotter, the department said the video"was identified in the routine course of business by a department employee, who, concerned about the nature of statements heard on that video, appropriately escalated their concerns through their chain of command." The office of Chief Adrian Diaz referred the matter to the accountability office, the statement said.
"The family has nothing to say," he told The Seattle Times."Except I wonder if these men's daughters or granddaughters have value. A life is a life."The controversy over Auderer's remarks comes as a federal judge this month ended most federal oversight of the police department under a 2012 consent decree that was meant to address concerns about the use of force, community trust and other issues.
Members from both the Community Police Commission and the African American Advisory Council said hearing Auderer laugh about Kandula's death reinforces a message to the people of Seattle that the department as a whole allows that type of behavior,"This just taints it. Not only for Seattle officers but for every officer in our country. That shows you their culture. That some of us are valued and some aren't.
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