Seattle police commanders condemn 'destructive unprofessionalism' of officer caught laughing about pedestrian death

Seattle police commanders have recommended the strongest possible discipline — 30 days without pay or possible termination — for an officer caught on video laughing about the death of a pedestrian struck and killed by a fellow police officer last year.

In a Jan. 26 memo, the commanders wrote they “unequivocally agree” with the Office of Police Accountability that Officer Daniel Auderer violated the Seattle Police Department's professionalism policies when he appeared to mock the life of Jaahnavi Kandula, the 23-year-old woman killed, as having “limited value” because of her age.

However, in that memo the commanders said the disciplinary finding should focus only on Auderer’s “overwhelmingly destructive unprofessionalism” and not on a second allegation of biased policing in which the OPA also recommended sustained findings of misconduct for the comments regarding Kandula's age. The SPD memo says, “There is no evidence that the victim’s age was any kind of motivating factor in his actions or that he would not have expressed the same callousness overall for any other person.”

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The commanders further stated they “have serious concerns about procedural irregularities” in OPA’s investigation of that bias allegation. They say the initial findings from OPA in the director’s certification memo dated Jan. 18 found insufficient evidence for the bias claim. But shortly before a disciplinary meeting on Jan. 22, OPA provided an “updated final” memo, still dated Jan. 18, that sustained the bias allegation.

“This late reversal, without citing any additional facts, raises concerns,” the command staff said, calling it a distraction “from the core matter.” The commanders' memo was authored by the Seattle Police Department’s Chief Operating Officer Brian Maxey and assistant chiefs Tom Mahaffey and Dan Nelson.

The OPA did not immediately respond to KUOW's request for comment about SPD’s concerns with its altered conclusion on the finding of biased policing.

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SPD commanders' "proposed disciplinary action report" released along with their memo said OPA's internal investigation found Auderer’s statement that Kandula "was 26, anyway [and] had limited value" to be "derogatory and biased on the basis of the discernible characteristic of age.” SPD's report continues, “this statement was preceded by your comment, ‘[y]eah, just write a check. Just, yeah (laughter). $11,000.’”

Auderer has said his comments were taken out of context and meant to mock lawyers, not Kandula. Auderer is the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild; the bodycam video recorded his side of a phone call with SPOG president Mike Solan.

SPD's commanders wrote in their proposed disciplinary action report that Auderer’s case has provoked international outrage “causing incalculable harm to the Department’s reputation nationally, globally, and most importantly, among the Seattle community we serve.”

The incident also occurred as SPD is trying to demonstrate the soundness of its accountability system in order to be released from federal oversight.

RELATED: Seattle police face reckoning over 'culture' in 2024 as federal oversight winds down

SPD commanders wrote to Auderer, “The disgrace you have brought to the Department on a global scale will undoubtedly stain SPD’s reputation for years, and your insensitivity tarnished some observers’ perceptions of all SPD Officers," adding that Auderer's "conduct put every one of [his colleagues] at risk." Their report notes that the OPA recommends Auderer's employment "be terminated on the basis of both the bias and the professionalism violations," while the SPD chain of command recommends "serious discipline" on the professionalism charge alone.

The SPD memo also noted that this is Auderer’s third sustained allegation for unprofessionalism, and that in addition he received a four-day suspension for violating a separate policy on discretion in 2017.

Both the OPA's findings and the command staff memo are recommendations, meant to inform Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz's decision about whether to discipline Auderer.

The next step in the case will be a meeting between Auderer and Diaz on Monday, March 4 which SPD notes is “an opportunity to present information as to why the recommended disciplinary action should not take place and/or any other information that you would like to be considered by the Department.” Diaz will then make the final determination on any discipline.