Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
International

Kshama Sawant, other Seattle leaders call for action after cop mocks Kandula's death

Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Sep, 2023 02:46 PM
  • Kshama Sawant, other Seattle leaders call for action after cop mocks Kandula's death

New York, Sep 15 (IANS) 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's death by a police patrol vehicle in January sparked massive outrage.

The brief clip shows Seattle Police Officers’ Guild Vice President Daniel Auderer saying that 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula "had limited value" in a call with senior Mike Solan. 

Sawant has called for an elected police accountability system after the incident.

"Working people need to demand an independent, public investigation into this outrage," she said in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter).

Sawant said that the “so-called Office of Professional Accountability has singularly failed to hold Seattle Police accountable” in the past, noting that “cops overseeing cops will never work".

"We 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," she wrote.

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.

"He is far from an exception in police departments nationwide -- under both Democrats & Republicans -- which use excessive force with impunity, especially against the poor, those facing mental health challenges, women, and marginalised communities," she said in her post.

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.

Asking the Seattle Police Department to "fix the culture", Council member Tammy J. Morales called on Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz to take immediate action against Auderer's abhorrent comments'.

“After every high-profile incident of police abuse, we’re told to wait -- wait for a six-month long investigation or a years-long review process. We’re done waiting. I’m 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,” Morales said in a statement.

“As the department and Seattle Police Officer’s Guild ask for more funding for recruitment and hiring, it’s becoming clear the top deterrent to attracting high-quality officers may be the culture of the department itself,” she continued.

Morales said that as a mother of three, she is "disgusted" by the comments Auderer made in the video. “This officer should not be on the force," she told Diaz.

Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee, called the comments “careless and inhumane”.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell sent a letter to Kandula's family saying that Auderer's comments do not reflect the feelings of the city.

"I 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’s death is a loss for our whole community -- 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," he wrote.

On January 23, Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave was driving 74 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone.

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.

In the hours after, Auderer called Solan. In that call, he laughed about Jaahnavi’s death and said, "yeah, just write a check. $11,000. She was 26 anyway. She had limited value".

MORE International ARTICLES

British Sikh 'Polar Preet' to trek 1,100 miles across Antarctica

British Sikh 'Polar Preet' to trek 1,100 miles across Antarctica
The 33-year-old will pull all her kit and supplies on a sledge (pulk), weighing around 120kg (19 stone) at the start of her epic journey in November, while battling temperatures of -50c and wind speeds of up to 60mph. "I expect the journey to take approximately 75 days. Having done 700 miles to the South Pole, I know I can do 1,100 miles," Chandi, a physiotherapist with the British Army, said.

British Sikh 'Polar Preet' to trek 1,100 miles across Antarctica

Sikh trio fights to keep turban, beard at US Marine boot camp

Sikh trio fights to keep turban, beard at US Marine boot camp
Three Sikh recruits, working to join the US Marine Corps, fought for an emergency appeal in District of Columbia's federal court to get an immediate exemption to the Corps' boot camp rule of cutting their hair and shaving their beards.  The three plaintiffs -- Aekash Singh, Milaap Singh Chahal,  and Jaskirat Singh -- want to attend Marine Corps basic training without having to shave their beards or forgo their turbans. 

Sikh trio fights to keep turban, beard at US Marine boot camp

Suspect pleads not guilty in US Sikh family's murder

Suspect pleads not guilty in US Sikh family's murder
The bodies of eight-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, 39 were found in an "extremely remote" area near the intersection of Indiana and Hutchins roads. Jesus Salgado is said to have had a long-standing feud with the family and was a former employee in their trucking business.  

Suspect pleads not guilty in US Sikh family's murder

Colombian illegal immigrants targeting Indians in US arrested: Police

Colombian illegal immigrants targeting Indians in US arrested: Police
Indian-origin people across the US have often been targets of robbers because they are believed to have lots of jewellery. The four, who had been under surveillance, were caught in another suburb, New Hyde Park, where they had targeted a house after following a woman, police said.

Colombian illegal immigrants targeting Indians in US arrested: Police

Man jailed for attacking elderly Sikh in Manchester

Man jailed for attacking elderly Sikh in Manchester
Claudio Campos, 28, attacked Avtar Singh in broad daylight as he was walking home from work through the Tib Street area of the City Centre on June 23. Campos, who was with his partner at the time, proceeded to walk up behind Avtar before violently punching him to the head. Singh fell into the middle of the road where he stayed unconscious until a passer-by called for an ambulance.

Man jailed for attacking elderly Sikh in Manchester

British Sikh MP seeks 'urgent action' on rising hate crimes

British Sikh MP seeks 'urgent action' on rising hate crimes
Quoting hate crime statistics 2021-22, Gill, an MP from Birmingham, said hate crimes against Sikhs rose by 169 per cent in comparison to a 38 per cent increase in reported religious hate crimes overall. The 2001 census recorded 336,000 Sikhs living in Britain. Gill said 301 hate crimes against Sikhs were reported in 2021-22, up from 112 in 2020-2021. 

British Sikh MP seeks 'urgent action' on rising hate crimes