'Justice for Jaahnavi Kandula': Community members in Seattle hold rally

PTI

Seattle, September 15

Demanding justice for Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula and the resignation of two Seattle police officers, around 200 people from different communities held a rally at an intersection where she was struck and killed by a speeding police patrol car.

Kandula, 23, was struck by a police vehicle driven by Officer Kevin Dave when she was crossing a street on January 23. He was driving 74 mph (more than 119 kmh) on the way to a report of a drug overdose call.

In bodycam footage released on Monday by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer laughed about the deadly crash and dismissed any implication Dave might be at fault or that a criminal investigation was necessary.

Around 200 people on Thursday took to the Seattle intersection where Kandula was fatally struck by an officer's cruiser in January, the Seattle Times newspaper reported.

They called for accountability for the officer who killed her and for a police union leader's comments about the crash, which some described as “disgusting” and “abhorrent”.

Participants at the rally in South Lake Union called for the resignation of Auderer and the officer who struck Kandula, Dave.

Speakers at the rally criticised the police system, saying it is built on white supremacy, and the criminalising and undervaluing of the lives of Black and Indigenous people and other people of colour, the report added.

Signs read “Jail killer cops,” “Justice for Jaahnavi,” and “End police terror”. People living in nearby apartments came to join the crowd.

Seattle resident Rafael McPeek said he hoped to send a message that police officers can't get away with killing someone while speeding through city streets or making comments questioning the value of someone's life.

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