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New York: Mumbai-born Kshama Sawant, a prominent Indian-origin Seattle council member, has called for an elected police accountability system after a recent bodycam video of a police officer mocking an Indian student\u2019s death by a police patrol vehicle in January sparked massive outrage.<\/p>\n
The brief clip shows Seattle Police Officers\u2019 Guild Vice President Daniel Auderer saying that 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula \u201chad limited value\u201d in a call with senior Mike Solan.<\/p>\n
Sawant has called for an elected police accountability system after the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking people need to demand an independent, public investigation into this outrage,\u201d she said in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter).<\/p>\n
Sawant said that the \u201cso-called Office of Professional Accountability has singularly failed to hold Seattle Police accountable\u201d in the past, noting that \u201ccops overseeing cops will never work\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need independently elected community oversight with full powers over the police. But to win this, working people will need to organise independently of the Democratic Party,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Sawant said that Auderer has been the subject of 18 investigations since 2014, and is involved in lawsuits costing the city over $1.7 million, with not one of them having resulted in him being fired, let alone facing legal consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is far from an exception in police departments nationwide \u2014 under both Democrats & Republicans \u2014 which use excessive force with impunity, especially against the poor, those facing mental health challenges, women, and marginalised communities,\u201d she said in her post.<\/p>\n
Some of the charges against Auderer include, harassing, illegally stopping and roughly arresting two Mexican migrants, sexually harassing an arrestee and beating a mentally ill man to the point of permanent brain damage.<\/p>\n
Asking the Seattle Police Department to \u201cfix the culture\u201d, Council member Tammy J. Morales called on Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz to take immediate action against Auderer\u2019s abhorrent comments\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter every high-profile incident of police abuse, we\u2019re told to wait \u2014 wait for a six-month long investigation or a years-long review process. We\u2019re done waiting. I\u2019m calling on Chief Diaz to tell the Council and community, in real terms, how he plans to regain control of his department and fix the culture,\u201d Morales said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the department and Seattle Police Officer\u2019s Guild ask for more funding for recruitment and hiring, it\u2019s becoming clear the top deterrent to attracting high-quality officers may be the culture of the department itself,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
Morales said that as a mother of three, she is \u201cdisgusted\u201d by the comments Auderer made in the video. \u201cThis officer should not be on the force,\u201d she told Diaz.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the council\u2019s Public Safety and Human Services Committee, called the comments \u201ccareless and inhumane\u201d.<\/p>\n
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell sent a letter to Kandula\u2019s family saying that Auderer\u2019s comments do not reflect the feelings of the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be clear that the comments made by one person do not reflect the feelings of our city or the communities that call it home. We recognise that Jaahnavi\u2019s death is a loss for our whole community \u2014 the loss of a young woman who had so much life ahead of her to do amazing things and share that joy with loved ones,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
On January 23, Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave was driving 74 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone.<\/p>\n
He did not have his sirens on when he hit and killed Kandula, a 23-year-old graduate student, who was walking in a crosswalk.<\/p>\n
In the hours after, Auderer called Solan. In that call, he laughed about Jaahnavi\u2019s death and said, \u201cyeah, just write a check. $11,000. She was 26 anyway. She had limited value\u201d.<\/p>\n
(IANS)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n