Bodycam employee records woman beaten by Seattle police had ‘limited value’

Seattle police union leaders are under investigation after an officer was recorded on his body camera appearing to cover the death of a woman killed by another officer this year, saying she “had limited value.”

The Seattle Police Department released the body camera footage of Officer Daniel Oderer on Monday. Auderer left the body camera on after responding Jan. 23 to a South Lake Union neighborhood where a marked patrol car driven by another officer struck and killed Jahnavi Kandula. That officer was responding to a “priority one call,” according to police. a day after the incident in which he hit Kandula, 23, who was walking in a crosswalk.

In the short clip, Oderer, who is the vice president of the Seattle Police Guild, is behind the wheel and can be heard discussing the details of the incident while talking to guild president Mike Solan.

Auderer said the officer whose car hit Kandula was “going 50” and that “it was not out of control.” The Seattle Times, citing a police investigation report that was turned over to prosecutors for review last month, said the officer was driving 74 miles per hour and Kandula was thrown more than 100 feet. Seattle police would not confirm details of the collision Tuesday, ordering NBC News to submit a public records request for information about the speed the officer was driving, whether his sirens were on, whether he faced any disciplinary action and his employment status. The department also would not comment on the phone conversation between Oderer and Solan.

“It’s not reckless for a trained driver,” Oderer also said in the video, adding that he doesn’t believe “she was thrown 40 feet either.”

“But she’s dead,” he said. Later, he laughs and says, “No, he’s an ordinary person.” Only Auderer’s statements can be heard on the video.

“Yeah, just write the check,” he also said and laughed again.

“Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway,” Oderer said, mistaking Kandula’s age. “It was of limited value.”

In a statement Monday, the Seattle Police Department said it learned of the conversation, not from Oderer, but from an officer who overheard it “in the normal course of business.” That employee was “concerned by the nature of the statements” and relayed their concerns through his chain of command to the chief’s office. After reviewing the video, the chief’s office turned it over to the Office of Police Accountability for investigation, as required by department policy and the city’s accountability ordinance.

The watchdog, which investigates police misconduct and recommends discipline to the police chief, is looking into the “context” in which the statements were made and whether any rules were broken, the police department said.

Kathy Meyer, assistant director of operations for the Office of Police Accountability, confirmed that the investigation was launched after the agency received a complaint on Aug. 2 from a Seattle Police Department employee. Mayer declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

Oderer, Solan and the Seattle Police Officers Guild did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Seattle Police Commission, another watchdog group, described the body camera footage as “heartbreaking and shockingly insensitive.”

“The people of Seattle deserve the best from a police department charged with building trust with the community and ensuring public safety,” the commission said in a statement.

Kandula, who was originally from India, earned a master’s degree from Northeastern University in Seattle, according to a GoFundMe that was started to support her family.

Her uncle Ashok Mandula, who lives in Texas, did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday. He told the Seattle Times, “The family has nothing to say.”

“Except I wonder if the daughters or granddaughters of these people have value. Life is life,” he said.