Seattle police officer who hit, killed grad student in crosswalk faces up to $5K fine

SEATTLE (KOMO) — The Seattle City Attorney's Office (CAO) Criminal Division has filed a citation for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) officer who struck and killed a 23-year-old woman in a South Lake Union crosswalk on Jan. 23, 2023.

The infraction would carry a civil penalty with a maximum fine of $5,000. The filed citation with Seattle Municipal Court comes nine days after the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (KCPAO) announced its decision not to file charges against SPD officer Kevin Dave.

Dave was responding to an overdose call while driving near the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street around 8 p.m. on a Monday when his cruiser hit Jaahnavi Kandula, a graduate student at Northeastern University's Seattle campus. Kandula came to the Pacific Northwest from Bengaluru, India, in 2021 and was set to graduate in December 2023.

The KCPAO announced its decision Feb. 21, saying it lacked "sufficient evidence under Washington state law to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt" against Dave.

The SPD submitted a citation referral to the CAO a day later on Feb. 22.

RELATED | Seattle police officer Kevin Dave will not face charges

"The Seattle Police Department has referred a traffic infraction to the Seattle City Attorney’s Office involving Officer Kevin Dave in the tragic death of Jaahnavi Kandula," the CAO said in a statement. "The referral is for a traffic infraction under Seattle Municipal Code 11.58.005.C, Negligent Driving in the Second Degree with a Vulnerable User Victim. That infraction carries a civil penalty with a fine up to $5,000. The City Attorney’s Office Criminal Division will thoroughly review the referral prior to making a decision."

"I have delegated this matter to the CAO Criminal Division Chief and will maintain a clear separation between the CAO Criminal Division and the CAO Civil Division," said Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison. "I have made this decision to avoid a conflict of interest, as events underlying this referral could require me, as Seattle City Attorney, to represent the City of Seattle in future related civil matters."

A KCPAO report from the earlier investigation showed Dave was driving 74 mph on a 25 mph street with sirens activated, "chirped" the siren while going through the previous intersection, and applied brakes as he reacted to Kandula in the intersection, slowing to 63 mph.

"There is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ofc. Dave was consciously disregarding safety," the KCPAO said in the report, which also noted the collision occurred in part due to Dave's speed.

RELATED | SPD leaders believe 'serious discipline' warranted for officer's 'limited value' comments

"Even if prosecutors could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a uniformed police officer traveling at 74 mph in response to a legitimate emergency call in a fully marked patrol car with lights and sirens was negligent, negligent driving does not meet the legal threshold for felony criminal charges under Washington State law," the report said.

The case made national—and international—headlines after body-worn camera audio from another officer was released. Daniel Auderer, the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, responded to the Jan. 23 crash scene and afterward called guild President Mike Solan to report what happened. In the recording released by the SPD, Auderer laughs and suggests that Kandula’s life had “limited value” and the city should “just write a check.”

“Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway,” Auderer said, inaccurately stating Kandula's age. “She had limited value.”

The recording did not capture Solan's remarks.

"The PAO finds the comments made by Seattle Police Officer Daniel Auderer, and recorded on his body-worn video, appalling and deeply troubling," the KCPAO said in a Feb. 21 statement. "As egregious as Officer Auderer’s comments are, they do not change the PAO’s legal analysis into the conduct of Officer Dave."

The one-year anniversary of Kandula's death passed in January, and on that same day, the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) announced an investigation into complaints about Auderer's remarks.

The OPA said Auderer violated the SPD's policies on professionalism and bias-based policing. The OPA did not say what the recommended discipline would be for Auderer but told KOMO News that information would be released once the disciplinary process was complete.

India's government demanded an investigation through its San Francisco consulate following the death.