Seattle Police Department, or SPD, officer Kevin Dave, who struck and killed 23-year-old Northeastern graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula in his police cruiser in January 2023, has been fired, SPD confirmed in an email to The Huntington News Jan. 7. 

In a department-wide email sent Jan. 6 and obtained by The News, interim Chief of Police Sue Rahr said the Seattle Office of Police Accountability, or OPA, waited until “both criminal and civil infraction cases were complete before completing their investigation.” OPA found Dave in violation of four SPD policies, including a policy that requires officers to modify their emergency response when appropriate, as well as a policy stating officers are responsible for the safe operation of their police vehicle. 

Rahr wrote that Dave’s termination comes after the case was “reviewed by the King County Prosecutor’s Office and declined for prosecution last year. It was then referred to the Seattle City Attorney’s Office and the Officer was charged with second degree negligent driving.”  

“I believe the officer did not intend to hurt anyone that night and that he was trying to get to a possible overdose victim as quickly as possible,” Rahr wrote in the email. “However, I cannot accept the tragic consequences of his dangerous driving. His positive intent does not mitigate the poor decision that caused the loss of a human life and brought discredit to the Seattle Police Department.”

A traffic crash report on the incident states Dave struck Kandula, who was a master’s student at Northeastern’s Seattle campus, while en route to a “priority one” drug overdose call. He was traveling 74 mph in a 25 mph zone. SPD’s report determined Dave had reduced his speed to around 63 mph before throwing her 138 feet and killing her. 

The SPD report found that Dave did not have his sirens activated, instead “chirping” his siren at the time of the collision. OPA later found him in violation of a SPD policy requiring proper use of emergency lights for an emergency response, according to the Jan. 6 email from Rahr. 

Kandula’s death garnered national attention when, in September 2023, SPD released body camera footage of officer Daniel Auderer — assigned to evaluate Dave for signs of impairment on the night of the incident — mocking and joking about Kandula’s death. The footage was recorded one day after Kandula’s death, and Auderer’s callous remarks sparked outrage nationwide.

SPD fired Auderer in July 2024, and he filed a $20 million wrongful termination lawsuit against the City of Seattle in August 2024.

Dave’s termination comes amidst mounting pressure from the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which held a rally in August 2024 carrying signs reading “Convict Kevin Dave.” The renewed calls for Dave to face legal repercussions came more than a year after King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion wrote in a February 2023 memo that felony charges against Dave could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 

“After staffing this case with senior deputy prosecuting attorneys and office leadership, I have determined that we lack sufficient evidence under Washington State law to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Manion wrote.  

In March 2024, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office issued a $5,000 traffic fine against Dave, which he failed to pay on time, resulting in an additional $52 late fee, KOMO News previously reported. 

In his body camera video, which SPD released in September 2023, Auderer says “50 miles an hour … isn’t out of control for a trained driver.” 

He went on to say, “It’s a regular person … yeah, just write a check,” Auderer, who was then the vice president for the Seattle Police Officers Guild, or SPOG, said in the footage while on the phone with SPOG President Mike Solan. “Eleven thousand dollars, she was 26 [sic] anyways, she had limited value.” 

“I understand and accept that many will not agree with this decision. This case is tragic on every level and will have lifelong implications for everyone involved,” Rahr wrote of Dave’s firing in the Jan. 6 email. “It is my hope that this heartbreaking situation will be an enduring reminder [to] officers responding to emergencies: Do not lose sight of the danger that is created by excessive speed when responding to emergency calls.”