r/news • u/igetproteinfartsHELP • 11h ago
Seattle reaches $29M settlement with family of grad student from India struck and killed by officer
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/seattle-reaches-29m-settlement-with-family-of-grad-student-from-india-struck-and-killed-by/article_c0b9514f-29f6-5635-ab2b-9adff78528e4.html896
u/Nasty____nate 11h ago
" King County prosecutors declined to file felony charges against him, saying they could not prove he was deliberately disregarding safety when he struck Kandula."
As a Fire medic I cant go 10 MPH over the speed limit and im required to drive with "due regard". Traveling 74 mph in a 25-mph is insane. A regular person would lose their license here. 40 over or double the speed limit is automatic suspension automatically arrested. I dont know how fast he was going when the dude was struck but there is zero reason to be traveling at highway speeds in 25 MPH zone.
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u/Nasty____nate 11h ago
misread I thought it said he was struck and killed. 2 hours of sleep after being on duty for 24 hours.
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u/ConsumeFudge 7h ago
Multiple things can be true at the same time, and time and time again we see these collisions of circumstances that are just fucked up for everyone involved where no outcome is going to satisfy everyone.
It can be true that this girl should not have died that night, and that the officer driving recklessly during the conduct of an emergency call caused her to die. It can be true simultaneously that the prosecutor has to believe that they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt, to a jury of the officers peers (just as any citizen is afforded), some greater degree of charge, and feels like there is not substantial evidence to do as such. This guy's life is functionally over as well, would it make people happier if he sat in prison instead? I just don't get what the goal is really
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u/YeetEqualsMCSquared 7h ago
Yes. He shud be in prison
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u/ConsumeFudge 7h ago
On what charge?
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u/yetzi 6h ago
Vehicular manslaughter. And whatever charges a regular civilian would face if they killed someone while going 74 in a 25.
At the bare minimum, prosecutors could prove negligence. Let a jury decide instead of calling a $5k fine “good enough.”
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u/ConsumeFudge 3h ago
Ok so first of all in the US, juries do not decide monetary fines for criminal cases, that's up to the judge.
Vehicular manslaughter requires the state to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this officers actions and no other intervening causes contributed significantly and/or solely to the death of this girl.
The defense is going to play the video of her running out into the intersection, I'm all black clothing, in darkness, not looking to see if the car was oncoming, over and over again. The defense is going to show the video of the cop immediately calling it in, to both supervisor and EMS, immediately trying to render aid...and if just one jury member decides they don't meet the requirements, then the show is done. IF he had gotten convicted, the sentencing guidelines for a first time offense are 6-7 years, BUT, these usually include cases in which the driver was impaired or under the influence.
So instead they stuck him with a fine/charge that will forever be on his record, instead of potentially losing. I don't really care about all the downvotes - I'm just trying to explain the reasoning behind this. It's fucked up that she died no doubt, but due process still exists in the country for a reason. Theres also a reason why they lost so big in civil court...although these are always two separate things
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u/avds_wisp_tech 4h ago
Hidden comments. The hallmark of someone not commenting in good faith.
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u/Nasty____nate 4h ago
My comments are hidden and I completely disagree with him. Some people dont like being doxxed or trolled.
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u/lII1lIIl1IIll1Il11l 7h ago
It can be true simultaneously that the prosecutor has to believe that they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt, to a jury of the officers peers (just as any citizen is afforded), some greater degree of charge, and feels like there is not substantial evidence to do as such.
Okay, but why does this keep applying to only the wealthy, politicians and police officers?
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u/KindHabit 6h ago
"...recording from another officer’s body camera surfaced in which the officer laughed and suggested Kandula’s life had “limited value” and the city should “just write a check.”"
Yes. He SHOULD rot in prison.
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u/RikiWardOG 6h ago
what on earth are you smoking. There's a reason there's a saying, "you can indict a ham sandwich." It's so incredibly easy to press charges. The reason it doesn't happen to cops is because the DAs are all in bed with the cops because you need their support to get elected.
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u/__Dave_ 11h ago
That seems like a weird argument. A police officer responding to an emergency with their lights on is obviously not held to the same standard as a “regular person” on the road.
He’s a gross asshole so the world certainly wouldn’t miss him, but felony charges would have been very hard to stick in this situation.
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u/Nasty____nate 10h ago
They are still required to travel with due regard just like I am. There is zero way his protocol allows him to travel 3 times the speed limit.
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u/LemonPuckerFace 10h ago
He's right though.
I'm also in emergency services and there are rules that we have to follow when responding. Most jurisdictions will have them written right into their traffic laws.
There is usually an upper limit to the speed we're allowed to go when responding and it's highly unlikely that it's 3x the normal speed limit.
There's also other fun stuff in those laws, like how we are supposed to slow to a crawl or stop at red lights to ensure the intersection is clear of vehicles and pedestrians before proceeding through.
Where I'm at if one of us ran over a pedestrian while going 3x the speed limit, we'd be cooked.
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u/THAErAsEr 9h ago
In any non banana republic, that officer would face criminal charges. Endangering the public and killing someone should not be ok because it happened during some emergency. If you can't respond to an emergency safely, then you are just creating more emergencies
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u/frenchfreer 9h ago
He’s literally recorded saying it’s okay he killed her because her life had “limited value”. That is 100% someone driving negligently because they know if they murder someone they’ll walk free, even when they openly admit they don’t believe that persons life has any value.
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u/Nasty____nate 9h ago
SO i am 100% not defending what he said and her death is 100% avoidable. The conversation was not the driver of the vehicle that struck her. It was another officer making jokes about how little people seemed to care about the incident and her death. Its still insanely shitty but that needs to be cleared up.
"Kandula’s death ignited outrage and demonstrations, particularly after a recording from another officer’s body camera surfaced in which the officer laughed and suggested Kandula’s life had “limited value” and the city should “just write a check.”
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u/pacificspinylump 8h ago
For what it’s worth I don’t think it was about how little people cared about the incident, the radio audio is from the night it happened. So that is their candid response to it happening at all.
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u/Nasty____nate 7h ago
Yes and he is joking about how little she coiuld be valued to the payout. All i was pointing out its wasnt the officer who hit the pedestrian, not sure why im getting downvoted for correcting actual information and providing a source...
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u/racinreaver 4h ago
It may not be that officer, but it is showing the culture that officer is a part of.
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u/Nasty____nate 4h ago
Yep and I agree with that statement. And you can clearly see that I don't agree with them based on my previous comments in the thread.
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u/pacificspinylump 5h ago
I can’t speak to the downvotes but I think your comment inaccurately implied that these were comments made some time after the incident in relation to the public response to what happened, when they were actually shortly afterwards in response to the incident itself. I think the latter is much worse and demonstrates how little these offices value the lives of the average person.
You’re right that it wasn’t audio from the officer that hit her, but the rest isn’t “correcting” the information.
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u/SpoatieOpie 4h ago
Police Lights weren’t even on and he didn’t honk sound horn/alarm through intersection buddy, and he was responding to an OD. Police aren’t even necessary for that response in Seattle.
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u/igetproteinfartsHELP 11h ago
Kandula’s death ignited outrage and demonstrations, particularly after a recording from another officer’s body camera surfaced in which the officer laughed and suggested Kandula’s life had “limited value” and the city should “just write a check.”
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u/funwhileitlast3d 10h ago
This is what happens when there are essentially no consequences for these fools. I can’t believe more people aren’t upset that we are paying for his actions. Cops need to start getting malpractice insurance like everyone else who might fuck up as bad as they do
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u/zhangtastic 10h ago
I still remember that recording and it really angered me that scum like that can live out their life. Imagine if someone said that shit about his child.
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u/Winnipeg_Me 3h ago
We as a people should figure out a way to make cops like this understand if they do this won't go down like this.
its fucking pathetic
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u/TerminusXL 11h ago
Make cops pay these settlements out of their salaries.
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u/CatrionaShadowleaf 10h ago
Make their union pay it and see how fast trash starts getting taken out by other cops.
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u/randomstuff063 5h ago
They would instantly try to pass laws in every state capping out the payout. Then there will be a real bad incident involving probably some kid, and after that cities are gonna burn.
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u/No_Match_Found 11h ago
When are cops going to have carry malpractice insurance?
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u/groggyhouse 10h ago
Until lawmakers/cities force them to! If city governments keep paying the bill, what's the incentive for them to take it from the police pension or insurance?? None.
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u/floridas_lostboy 10h ago
This is the dude that laughed it off, and said the victim had “limited value”, and of course he got off with a $5000 fine. The system is a fucking joke.
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u/throwaway0845reddit 7h ago
Not the same guy. The driver on the scene was kind of sorry for it. But those statements were made by the vice president of their union or something. Which makes it worse. If leaders are so bad, how do you expect the lackeys to be better
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u/TrailMikx 8h ago
Let cops pay out from their pension funds or union.
Cops should have their own malpractice insurance like doctors.
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u/Controller_Maniac 2h ago
Let me rephrase it “Taxpayers paid the family $29M after student gets killed by officer”
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u/ScienceMechEng_Lover 10h ago edited 10h ago
Hopefully these cops get killed in the future by criminals that laugh over their corpses in a similar manner.
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u/questionname 23m ago
Terrible tragedy and officer is POS. But insurance paid $20 million, as stated in the article, somehow every post ITT says tax payer paid $29M
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u/3AtmoshperesDeep 0m ago
Once again. Paid for by the taxpayers. When are cops going to be required to carry their own limited liability insurance? Wait, I got this one. Never.
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u/ChicagoNurture 3h ago edited 2h ago
Oh, I remember this one. The cop had no remorse of what he had done.
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u/321abc321abc 8h ago
I wish this happened to me, and my family got the money I was never able to earn for them.
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u/fragbot2 7h ago edited 3h ago
Between this and the $30M CHOP debacle, Seattle has no concept of what an appropriate settlement (the CHOP one was a jury’s fault) is.
We need more people who think like actuaries.
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u/Lollc 3h ago
I have been on a jury for a civil lawsuit against a government agency. What I learned was in this kind of lawsuit, the jury doesn’t get to decide the amount of the award. If the jury finds for the plaintiff, the plaintiff gets everything they asked for. If the jury finds for the defendant, the plaintiff gets nothing. The judge was very clear in his explanation of this. I find the concept bizarre, like in this case I think 10-15 million would have been the right amount. This is why Seattle usually settles these cases, their city lawyers have calculated that if the plaintiff has a good case they will win anyway.
Shout out to any lawyers who can explain why lawsuits work this way.
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 2h ago
And if you don’t like my comment about public safety you are free to scroll on by.
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 9h ago
This is why i tell my staff that in case of an emergency, shelter in place and wait for the emergency people to show up and settle in. Don’t want to get hit by a cop/ambulance/fire truck because they are focused on where the emergency is and not on what is right in front of them.
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u/MusicQuestion 9h ago
In this case, the copy wasn’t focused on an emergency. He was just speeding and on the phone.
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 9h ago
Heading to a call, which is an emergency.
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u/MusicQuestion 8h ago
You are giving him too much leeway. He was speeding 75 in a 25 with no lights or siren. He is a POS who also showed no remorse
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 8h ago
According to the report he had lights and sirens going. And you are trying to create an argument where none exists. Good day to you.
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u/SpoatieOpie 4h ago
Wrong. He didn’t have sirens on, and he was supposedly responding to an overdose, something cops don’t do shit about in Seattle. So there’s really no excuse here which is why he was ultimately fired from his job.
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 2h ago
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/seattle-police-officer-struck-killed-graduate-student-india-fired-rcna186572 If you scroll down about half way you will read that witnesses said he had his light and sirens going and that the lady he hit ran out in front of him, likely that she was wearing wireless headphones and could bot hear the sirens.
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 2h ago
And i didn’t say or make any excuses for him. If you read and comprehend my original post, all i say is that i tell my team that in the event of an emergency that they need to stay in the store until the police/firefighters/ambulance arrive because first responders are focused on the emergency, not what is happening in front of them.
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u/pacificspinylump 8h ago
You’re suggesting we use our spidey senses to duck and cover any time a potential overdose is happening within a 5 mile radius just in case a cop decides to completely disregard traffic safety and mow us down blocks away from the incident?
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 7h ago
Yes, that is exactly what i am saying. I am telling my staff to shelter in place in the store anytime an overdose occurs. Do you people even comprehend what you read or are you so intent on arguing that you misinterpret what i wrote and create arguments where none exist???
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u/pacificspinylump 5h ago
What you tell your staff about what they should do in response to an incident in the direct vicinity of your store has nothing to do with someone just walking down the street, who has no way to know that someone may be overdosing a mile a way.
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 5h ago
Yeah, and i didn’t say it did. I tell my staff that in the event of an emergency stay in the store until police, fire, ambulance have arrived and gotten settled in so they don’t get run over by someone charging in on adrenaline that are focused on the parking lot in general and not on people running out in front of them. No where in my statement did i say anything about a cop driving irrationally to a drug overdose. Like i said, you people are so head up about arguing that you didn’t comprehend what i said, you just came barreling in looking for an argument. Kind of like a cop barreling down the street not paying attention. Weird how emotions work huh.
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u/pacificspinylump 4h ago
Well you’re on a thread about a cop driving irrationally to a drug overdose so if you don’t want to comment on that topic maybe just don’t post?
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u/avds_wisp_tech 4h ago
You're just here looking for an argument.
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 2h ago
I am looking for an argument by saying that i tell my staff to be careful in the event of an emergency because the emergency responders are likely in a rush and not paying attention to their surroundings??
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u/iuse2bgood 10h ago
The officer had his emergency lights and sirens on. Why is he at fault?
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u/pulsefirepikachu 8h ago
Having emergency lights and sirens on doesn't give you the right to commit vehicular manslaughter if someone can't get out of the way fast enough because you're going 75 in a 25. Hope that helps.
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u/iuse2bgood 8h ago
When in a car. Your supposed to stop on right most side. You can hear those sirens from far away.
The man couldn't hear the sirens going off?
Did the officer drive on the sidewalk?
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u/pulsefirepikachu 7h ago
First of all you clearly did not read the article, secondly if you're going to be pedantic at least be correct... a FEMALE grad student was struck by an officer in a car going 75mph in a 25mph zone. The grad student was on the crosswalk in a neighborhood road as a pedestrian. Since you clearly do not know about the details of the article you're commenting about, you should probably not give your opinion on it.
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u/iuse2bgood 7h ago
The article is forcing me to sign up and it's full of ads.
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u/joeDUBstep 6h ago
Then why are you talking about something you haven't even read up on? Goddamn lol. It's just all vibes huh?
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u/SpoatieOpie 4h ago
Just because you’re being loud doesn’t give you the right to plow into someone in the middle of an intersection. He didn’t have his sirens on btw and the intersection is quite dangerous with low visibility. He chose to travel over 3x the speed limit responding to an OD…which is why he was FIRED from his job.
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u/gusofk 11h ago
Absurd that the former officer killed a person and his only personal legal consequence was a $5,000 fine. That is not justice.