A Seattle police officer has been fired for making callous remarks about the death of a graduate student from India after she was struck last year by another officer's vehicle in a crosswalk.
Seattle interim police Chief Sue Rahr fired Officer Daniel Auderer on Wednesday for the comments he made in the hours after the January 2023 death of Jaahnavi Kandula, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reported.
Rahr wrote in a departmentwide email sent Wednesday that it was her duty to uphold the high standards necessary to maintain public trust, and said Auderer's actions "have brought shame on the Seattle Police Department and our entire profession, making the job of every police officer more difficult."
Her decision came after Gino Betts Jr., the civilian director of the Office of Police Accountability, recommended that Auderer be terminated for unprofessional conduct and showing bias in recorded statements.
The office previously found Auderer's behavior was biased and unprofessional, KIRO-TV reported. Betts described the officer's words as "derogatory, disturbing and inhumane."
Mayor Bruce Harrell, in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, said he supported Rahr's decision. He and the chief acknowledged it is likely to be appealed and lead to arbitration, and potentially affect the department's efforts to end more than a decade of federal oversight of officer accountability.
"This incident damaged the public trust we have been working to strengthen since Day One of my administration," Harrell said.
Auderer is the elected vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, which represents roughly 900 rank-and-file officers. An email sent to the guild from The Associated Press seeking comment was not immediately returned. "Cruel and callous"
In a disciplinary action report laying out the reasons for her decision, Rahr said in Auderer's presentation at the disciplinary hearing he acknowledged that his words were hurtful, was "horrified" to know what they meant to the young woman's family, and he wished he could bear their pain. He closed with a "heartfelt apology," the chief wrote.
As she considered this, however, she told him "your cruel and callous laughter" and the pain inflicted on Kandula's family could not be outweighed. Auderer has been an officer since 2009 and Rahr also said she received a number of letters of support for Auderer from his co-workers.
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