Jaahnavi Kandula, the daughter to a single mother who teaches in an elementary school in India, was just 23 when she was killed by a speeding police cruiser in Seattle, US.
This week, Officer Kevin Dave, the Seattle Police Officer who fatally struck the college student while driving over the speed limit, was issued a traffic infraction.
City Attorney Ann Davison has since been criticised by campaign groups and locals, for filing and welcoming the traffic violation against Dave in Seattle Municipal Court.
Last year, after video footage exposed a Seattle Police Official for laughing while speaking of Kandula’s death scene, mass protests were held across the city and a petition that calls for the officer to be tried for manslaughter in Washington State has gained 234,408 signatures.
Sources at the scene said that Officer Dave called radio dispatch for backup and was seen performing a series of CPR attempts to revive the young girl until first responders arrived.
The incident, which took place on 23 January last year, saw Kandula taken into hospital almost immediately. Her death was announced by medical staff the next day.
Despite footage showing Dave behind the wheel of the vehicle, driving at a speed of 74 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone before crashing into Kandula, the officer has been asked to pay a fine of $5,000 for second-degree negligent driving.
According to the City Attorney, prosecutors could not provide evidence that showed Dave was under the influence, impaired or driving recklessly at the time.
Officer Dave returned to work just days later, after Seattle Police conducted a short investigation and ruled the catastrophic incident an accident.
Kandula’s family have described the college student as a “brilliant” person who was on track to earn her master’s in information systems. The loss of their relative has left a “huge hole” in their lives, the family continued.
In a statement, Kandula’s family read: “We are truly heartbroken. Jaahnavi was a brilliant student with a bright future. Jaahnavi’s smile was radiant, and her bubbly personality warmed the hearts of every person she came in contact with. She had an innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life.”
While the police officer has been fined, after watching body cam footage, which was first published by Publicola, the King County Prosecutor’s Office said that it is still deciding whether to charge Dave with a crime.
During the bodycam video, the police officer is heard telling a responding officer: “Lights were on. I was chirping the sirens…she was in the crosswalk.”
“She saw me, she started running through the crosswalk. Slammed on my breaks. Started staying back where she should before crossing,” the recording Dave continued.
The bodycam video also showed the officer skipping a series of red lights and slowing down slightly before slamming into the young woman on the crosswalk.
Dave has excused his speeding by noting that he was responding to an emergency call. The call was a priority-one call, the police department have said, explaining that priority-one calls are considered the highest importance of calls.
In the video, the intersection’s crosswalks are brightly marked by yellow reflective indicators. The crossing is also a wide median, surrounded by bike lanes and decorated with neon signs.
While the blaring sirens are also heard in the video, the sounding is intermittent and not continuous.
Seattle Police said that they would not investigating the fatal collision as a use of force case, as they did not believe the officer had intended to hit Kandula.
