On January 23rd of 2023, 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula was struck and killed by a police officer’s vehicle that was responding to a “priority one” call. A Master’s student of Northeastern University’s Seattle campus, Kandula had immigrated from India, where her single mother was an elementary school teacher and had taken on financial debt to support the move. Yet the tragedy of her story has only grown as recently released footage revealed the manner in which vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, Dan Auderer, had responded to the incident. In it, Auderer is heard laughing while discussing Kandula’s death, finally quipping, “Just write a check… yeah, $11,000. She was 26 anyway, she had limited value.”

It is difficult to describe the horror and anger that naturally arise upon listening to Auderer’s callous behavior. Not merely in virtue of Kandula’s talent and potential, but as a human being deserving of dignity and respect, she deserves far more than to be laughed at so flippantly. We at National APAMSA are horrified with Auderer’s actions, and we call upon the Office of Police Accountability to conduct its investigation with the utmost seriousness and urgency. We demand that justice be brought to the situation for the sake of Kandula’s memory and her family. We cannot stand idly by and allow the dehumanization and diminishment of members of our AANHPI community go unpunished.

We offer our sincerest condolences to Kandula’s loved ones, who had to suffer from not only the loss of someone so dear to them, but also the insult and disrespect from those that are ostensibly there to protect and serve our communities. We urge other AANHPI communities to join us in our condemnation of these disturbing developments. We also urge organizations associated with or otherwise involved in this nation’s police force to fight for robust and just accountability practices for police officers throughout our communities.