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Three years after Jaahnavi Kandula, a 23-year-old graduate student, was killed by Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave, her family reached a $29 million (Rs 262 crore) settlement with the city of Seattle, United States on Friday, February 13. Jaahnavi was run over by officer Kevin Dane in January 2023, who was found to be overspeeding while responding to a drug overdose call.
Jaahnavi, a native of Adoni in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, was a student of MS in Information Systems at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus. Her family had filed a wrongful death lawsuit for $110 million in King County Superior Court, Washington.
Announcing the settlement on Friday, Seattle city attorney Erika Evans said in a statement, “Jaahnavi Kandula’s death was heartbreaking, and the city hopes this financial settlement brings some sense of closure to the Kandula family… Jaahnavi Kandula’s life mattered. It mattered to her family, her friends and to our community.”
Speaking to The Indian Express from Adoni on Thursday, February 12, Jaahnavi’s mother, Vijaya Lakshmi, said, “The settlement may be considered as closure for us by some people, but the irresponsible police officer who caused the accident that took our daughter away from us forever has not been punished. What about the other officer who put a price on my daughter and joked about her death?”
A few months after her death, a body camera video of Seattle police officer Daniel Auderer mocking her death surfaced and sparked massive outrage. Auderer was heard talking to Seattle Police Officers’ Guild (SPOG) president Mike Solan about the accident which killed Jaahnavi, which he has been assigned to investigate.
Auderer was heard saying, “she is dead,” before erupting into laughter seconds later. He went on to refer to Jaahnavi as just “a regular person”, while adding, “Yeah, just write a cheque. Eleven thousand dollars.” He also said in the same video that, “She was 26 anyway, she had limited value”.
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“While no amount can ever bring Jaahnavi back, we hope this resolution reflects the seriousness of what was lost and underscores the value of her life,” her family said in a written statement emailed by one of its attorneys, Vonda Sargent. “She was cherished beyond measure, and her future was full of promise,” the statement concluded.
Auderer was fired for his remarks in July 2024, while Kevin Dave was also fired in January 2025.
In December 2024, Dave was asked to pay a $5,000 fine after the city charged him with second-degree negligent driving. He had been driving as fast as 119 kmph in a 40 kmph zone as he responded to a drug overdose call. He had his emergency lights on and had been using his siren at intersections.
The King's County Prosecutor's Office refused to press criminal charges against Dave citing "lack of sufficient evidence", following which the Indian Consulate in Seattle said they raised the issue with local authorities for review.