Seattle Police Union Head Probed for “Limited Value” Woman Death Comment

A Seat­tle police over­sight board is inves­ti­gat­ing the union head for his insen­si­tive com­ments about a fatal crash. 

Body­cam footage showed Daniel Aud­er­er, vice pres­i­dent of the Seat­tle Police Offi­cers Guild (SPOG), jok­ing that grad­u­ate stu­dent Jaah­navi Kan­du­la who died after an offi­cer struck her had “lim­it­ed val­ue” since she was only 26.

Aud­er­er had deter­mined the patrol car dri­ver going 50 mph was “not out of con­trol,” but a report lat­er revealed the offi­cer was dri­ving 74 mph in a 25 mph zone. 

The video sur­faced dur­ing a rou­tine review and has drawn out­rage for “heart­break­ing­ly insen­si­tive” remarks that under­mine account­abil­i­ty and com­mu­ni­ty trust, say over­sight groups. 

While the SPD extend­ed con­do­lences to Kan­du­la’s fam­i­ly, the case high­lights cul­tur­al prob­lems with­in the union resis­tant to reform.