Newly released bodycam footage showed the moment a Seattle police officer, responding to a call, ran down a street and fatally shot a 23-year-old Northeast University graduate student at the crosswalk.
Footage showed police officer Kevin Dave at the wheel of his squad car, driving at a speed of 74mph – within a 25mph zone – without the siren on before crashing into Jaahnavi Kandula.
Kandula crossed the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street near the college campus on January 23. She died in hospital a day later.
Dave was heard calling the dispatcher for backup following reports of a pedestrian being hit. He was seen administering CPR to the young woman until several other first responders arrived at the scene.
The police classified the incident as an accident and the officer only returned to duty a few days later.
Jaahnavi Kandula, 23, who was from India and has been a student at Northeast University since 2021, crossed the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street near the college campus on Jan. 23
Newly released bodycam footage shows Office Kevin Dave resuscitating victims shortly after hitting them with his squad car
The bodycam recordings were first published by Publicola. According to the news agency, the King County Attorney’s Office is still deciding whether to charge Dave with a felony.
The intersection’s crosswalks are heavily marked with bright yellow reflective turn signals and a large neon sign, and are surrounded by bike lanes and a wide median.
On body cam the officer could be heard telling a responding officer, ‘The lights were on.’ I chirped the sirens…she was at the crosswalk.’
“She saw me and ran across the crosswalk.” Slammed during my breaks. Started staying where she should before she crossed.’
The video showed the officer speeding past red lights and slowing down slightly before hitting the young woman.
Dave was on his way to a priority one call, which police said was the highest priority call. The call concerned a man who had overdosed on drugs but did not require hospitalization.
The video recording also showed that sirens, not continuous, sounded intermittently from the officer’s squad car.
Police said they were not investigating the accident as a case of violence, noting that they did not believe the officer intended to hit Kandula.
“At this point in the investigation, we have no reason to believe the officer intended to hit the woman,” a Seattle Police Department spokesman said earlier.
According to the ministry, Dave has been a civil servant since November 2019.
Police said the officer was not suspended, he was merely told to take his post-accident shift as “release day” to process a “traumatic or distressing” experience.
Video footage shows the officer at the wheel driving at a speed of 74 mph in a 25 mph zone
Video shows the officer’s sirens were only on intermittently before hitting the victim
The clash officer has been identified as Kevin Dave, who has worked with the Seattle Police Department since 2019. He is seen talking to other officials after the accident
After the incident, the Seattle Police Department said they would withhold information about the police report for the investigation and “in consultation” with Kandula’s family.
“We recognize that there is understandably a tremendous interest in the surrounding facts, but in order to both protect the integrity of the investigation and respect the family’s right to privacy, we will not release any information beyond what has already been provided,” the department said in a statement to
“We will provide all publicly available information, including the report, as soon as we are able and in consultation with the family.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to Ms. Kandula’s family and friends.” “This incident is a terrible tragedy for all involved,” the department added.
Kandula traveled to university from her native India to study for a Masters degree in Information Technology.
Her distraught family described her as a “brilliant” person.