SEATTLE — A traffic infraction was filed with Seattle Municipal Court Friday regarding the Seattle police officer who struck 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula with his cruiser while she was in a crosswalk.
The Seattle Police Department referred an infraction of second-degree negligent driving against Officer Kevin Dave to the Seattle City Attorney's Office earlier this month. The infraction carries a civil penalty with a fine of up to $5,000.
Officer Dave does not face criminal charges for Kandula's death, the King County Prosecutor's Office announced Feb. 21.
On Jan. 23, 2023, Dave was responding to an emergency call in South Lake Union and was in a 25-mile-per-hour zone at the time of the collision. Kandula had the right of way and was struck by the cruiser at approximately 63 miles per hour, according to a report released in June 2023.
Speed was the cause of the collision, as the speed at which Officer Dave was traveling did "not allow [Kandula] or him sufficient time to detect, address and avoid a hazard that presented itself," according to the June report.
Officer Dave was responding to a "priority one" call at the request of the Seattle Fire Department, according to the Seattle Police Department. According to the report, the officer was responding to a report of a drug overdose.
According to the report, Officer Dave did not have his siren activated continuously. Instead, the officer "chirped" his siren at the intersection. He did have his emergency lights on, according to a previous statement from the police department.
At the time of the collision, Kandula was wearing a black jacket, black pants and white shoes. She may have had Apple AirPods in both ears, according to the report. Investigators were unable to determine what mode the AirPods were in - if they were worn at the time of the collision. She was about 18 feet into the crosswalk when she was hit, according to the report.
As the officer approached the point where the collision happened, it "appeared he attempted to avoid the collision by steering and braking," according to the report. However the report goes on to say steering input "was slight and rapid," and ultimately didn't change the path of the vehicle. Officials said the officer applied breaks before the collision but it was not enough to avoid the collision due to the speed.
In a memo to Seattle police, prosecutors wrote there wasn't enough evidence to prove Officer Dave showed "conscious disregard for others safety."
A drug recognition expert responded to the scene and found no impairment in the officer.
Disciplinary hearing moved
Meanwhile, an officer who was not involved in the deadly collision but who was heard joking and making insensitive comments about it is waiting for a disciplinary hearing.
Officer Daniel Auderer's hearing was originally scheduled for March 4. That has changed to April 1.
Officer Auderer's chain of command and the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found he acted unprofessionally. For that, he faces the highest disciplinary range of nearly two weeks suspension up to termination, according to a disciplinary action report.
OPA also found that Auderer engaged in bias-based policing due to a comment he made about Kandula's age. The chain of command disagreed with that finding.
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