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September 20, 2023 | CPC Letter to Chief Diaz Regarding Officer Discipline
CPC Co-Chairs' statement on Seattle Police Department officer's recently released body cam footage showing the officer laughing and making light of the value of a pedestrian's life moments after an SPD vehicle struck and killed her in January, 2023. "The people of Seattle deserve better."
September 11, 2023 News Release (PDF)
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 11, 2023
The Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC) Co-Chairs responded to the body camera recording of SPD Detective Daniel Auderer’s comments on a telephone call – reportedly to SPOG President Mike Solan – in the moments after an SPD vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian during an emergency response earlier this year.
“The body camera footage of SPOG Vice President Daniel Auderer on a phone call – reportedly with SPOG President Mike Solan – laughing and making light of the value of a pedestrian’s life moments after a Seattle Police vehicle struck and killed her during an emergency response earlier this year is heartbreaking and shockingly insensitive.
“After Detective Auderer is heard confirming that the pedestrian died, he is laughing in response to the person on the other end of the call. He joked that her life was only worth $11,000 and ‘had limited value’.
“The reported explanation that he was mocking lawyers does not make this unprofessional and inhumane conduct any better because it shows – in what was believed to be a private conversation with SPOG leadership – a callous dismissiveness toward police accountability systems that are at the heart of the City’s efforts to reform the Seattle Police Department and come out from under the Consent Decree.
“This speaks to the concerns that the Seattle Community Police Commission has repeatedly raised about elements of Seattle Police Department culture and SPOG resistance to officer accountability measures included in the landmark 2017 Police Accountability Ordinance. The people of Seattle deserve better from a police department that is charged with fostering trust with the community and ensuring public safety.
“Especially in light of this video, the hard work toward ensuring that the Seattle Police Department reflects the values of the community it polices, and embraces transparent accountability, will remain a top priority for the Seattle Community Police Commission.”
- Co-Chairs Reverend Harriet Walden, Reverend Patricia Hunter, and Joel Merkel
The Seattle Community Police Commission is part of the accountability system that works together in different ways to promote effective, constitutional policing, including the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) and the Office of the Inspector General for Public Safety (OIG). The Seattle Community Police Commission is mandated to also provide ongoing, community-based oversight of the Seattle Police Department and the police accountability system.
CPC in the News
CPC Co-Chairs' Statements and Media Appearances
September 21, 2023 | Seattle police chief asked to suspend officer for offensive comments - MyNorthwest.com
September 21, 2023 | VIDEO: KOMO: Seattle Community Police Commission urges unpaid leave for officer caught allegedly mocking woman's death
September 21, 2023 | VIDEO: KING5: Community Police Commission calls for action after Seattle police bodycam video
September 21, 2023 | VIDEO: KIRO: Seattle Community Police Commission calls for suspension of officer caught mocking woman’s death
September 21, 2023 | VIDEO: FOX13: SPD oversight group demands officer under investigation for viral bodycam comments be put on leave
September 20, 2023 | Seattle Times: SPD oversight group demands officer under investigation for Jaahnavi Kandula comments be put on leave
September 19, 2023 | New York Times: Seattle Police Video Captures ‘Disturbing’ Comments About Pedestrian’s Death
September 15, 2023 | VIDEO: KIRO7: SPOG breaks silence on video where SPD officer mocks death of graduate student
September 15, 2023 | Time: A Seattle Police Officer’s Jokes About an Indian Woman’s Killing Are Sparking Outrage
September 15, 2023 | VIDEO: FOX13: Seattle Police union, officer responds to viral body cam controversy
September 15, 2023 | VIDEO: AP News: Outrage boils in Seattle and in India over death of a student and an officer’s callous remarks
September 14, 2023 | VIDEO: KING5: 'It's truly disturbing': Community holds rally, demands justice for Jaahnavi Kandula amid Seattle police video controversy
September 14, 2023 | USA Today: Leaders in India and Seattle demand action over video of cop joking about woman's death
September 14, 2023 | VIDEO: Rally planned after Seattle cop caught laughing on bodycam following deadly collision
September 13, 2023 | VIDEO: ABC News: Investigation opened after Seattle officer heard joking about pedestrian's death
September 13, 2023 | Gee & Ursula: Police culture to blame for comments on woman killed by SPD car
September 13, 2023 | VIDEO: KOMO: Seattle mayor addresses controversial SPD body cam footage mocking fatal collision victim
September 13, 2023 | VIDEO: BBC News: Seattle officer recorded joking about woman killed by a police car
September 13, 2023 | The Independent (UK): Seattle Police officer laughs after woman struck and killed by patrol car in shocking bodycam video
September 12, 2023 | VIDEO: KIRO7: Seattle leaders comment on ‘disgusting’ behavior of SPD officer who mocked woman’s death
September 12, 2023 | The Huntington News: ‘She had limited value:’ Body camera footage shows Seattle police officer laughing, joking about a Northeastern graduate student’s death
September 12, 2023 | USA Today: Watchdogs probe Seattle police union chiefs for saying woman killed had 'limited value'
September 12, 2023 | VIDEO: NBC News: Bodycam records officer saying a woman run over by Seattle police had ‘limited value’
September 11, 2023 | Seattle Times: Investigation launched into tape of Seattle police guild leaders downplaying death of woman struck by officer
September 11, 2023 | VIDEO: KOMO: Seattle officer caught on bodycam laughing after collision that killed grad student
September 11, 2023 | Publicola: “Write a Check for $11,000. She Was 26, She Had Limited Value.” SPD Officer Jokes with Police Union Leader About Killing of Pedestrian by Fellow Cop