Seattle Police Department Fires Officer Kevin Dave for Killing of Jaahnavi Kandula

Seattle Police Department (SPD) Interim Chief of Police Sue Rahr announced she’d fired SPD Officer Kevin Dave in an internal email Monday. The decision comes as the result of a January 2023 collision in which Dave struck and killed 23-year-old college student Jaahnavi Kandula while she was crossing a crosswalk.

In her email, Rahr stated that she believed Dave did not intend to hurt anyone when he drove 74 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone seconds before striking Kandula. Rahr said she believed Dave was trying to respond as quickly as possible to a call about a possible overdose. However, Rahr said she could not accept the “consequences of his dangerous driving.”

“His positive intent does not mitigate the poor decision that caused the loss of a human life and brought discredit to the Seattle Police Department,” Rahr wrote. Rahr added that she understood some in the department might disagree with her decision.

Rahr wrote that the Office of Police Accountability determined Dave’s actions on the night of Kandula’s death violated SPD policies around driving and following the law. Rahr said she hoped that her death would serve as a reminder of the danger that is created when officers use excessive speed while responding to emergency calls. In response to a request for comment about the firing, an SPD spokesperson immediately confirmed the firing and forwarded a copy of Rahr’s email to The Stranger.

Last year, the King County Prosecuting Attorney (PAO) declined to file charges against Dave. After the PAO declined the case, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office slapped Dave with a ticket for negligent driving in the case, a civil infraction for which he incurred a $5,000 fine, must complete a short stint in driving school, and serve some community service.

In September, the Seattle Times reported that Kandula’s family filed a lawsuit against both Dave and the City over her death. The family’s attorneys also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since Kandula’s death, Publicola has doggedly unearthed a litany of examples of Dave’s sketchy driving history, as well as his firing from the Tucson Police Department, all of which SPD officials knew about before they hired him.

Kandula’s death also led to the firing of former Seattle police union Vice-President Officer Daniel Auderer, who’s body-worn video captured him discussing her death as he responded to the collision on January 23, 2023. In the video, Auderer called Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan and told him that a woman had died, and then talked about a fictional future settlement agreement, saying, “Yeah, just write a check. Just, yeah [laughter]. $11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.” He followed his statement with what the OPA report described as “four minutes of full-bellied pronounced laughter.” Auderer’s comment caused international outrage.

Rahr fired Auderer in July 2024 and called his comments “cruel” and his laughter “callous.” Auderer has since filed a $20 million tort claim against the City.

This is a developing story.