SEATTLE — The Seattle Community Police Commission is calling on the police chief to take action after a detective’s recorded comments about the victim of a fatal crash continue to spark outrage.
The remarks made in the video are being investigated by the Office of Police Accountability. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is not providing comments about the matter while that investigation is underway. However, the city’s Community Police Commission said they want Chief Adrian Diaz to take steps to rebuild the community’s trust.
The Seattle police bodycam video was the focus of the Seattle Community Police Commission’s meeting on Monday. The commission also sent a letter to Diaz.
"We are asking the chief to put Detective [Daniel] Auderer on indefinite unpaid leave,” said Joel Merkel, co-chair of the Seattle Community Police Commission.
That request comes after Auderer's comments from January came to light.
On Jan. 23, Auderer was dispatched to assist with a collision after another officer, on his way to an emergency, struck and killed 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula.
Auderer, who is vice president of the police union, said as he drove home his conversation with union President Mike Solan was recorded. He said when Solan asked what crazy argument a lawyer can make in something like this, Auderer responded, "Yeah, just write a check. $11,000. She was 26 anyways. She had limited value."
In a letter to the Office of Police Accountability, Auderer explained he was not making fun of the death but instead mocking the callousness of the legal system.
"For me, it was just so horrible. What is the context that makes that okay,” asked Rev. Patricia Hunter.
During the commission meeting, a member of the force joined virtually.
"The day this story broke and I had to go to work, I knew what was coming,” said Seattle Police Officer Mark Mullens, who has been working for the department for more than 30 years.
"When something like this happens, it damages years and years of inroads and progress. We have to start all over again,” said Mullens. "I would implore officers to think before they speak because the damage that is done is irreparable, and it hurts other officers."
The Seattle Community Police Commission is also requesting that Diaz allow for a work group made up of accountability partners to address repeated concerns with policing practices at SPD.