The Seattle police officer who struck and killed Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula while responding to an overdose call, will not face any criminal charges due to lack of “sufficient” evidence, authorities said.

On Wednesday, the King County Prosecutor’s Office said they will not move forward with criminal charges against Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave, FOX13 Seattle reported.

In a statement released Wednesday, the King County Prosecuting Attorney said, “Kandula’s death is heartbreaking and impacted communities in King County and across the world.” Kandula, 23, was struck by a police vehicle driven by Officer Dave when she was crossing a street in Seattle on January 23. He was driving 74 mph (more than 119 kmh) on the way to a report of a drug overdose call. Kandula was thrown 100 feet when she was struck by the speeding police patrol vehicle.

In bodycam footage released by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer laughed about the deadly crash and dismissed any implication Dave might be at fault or that a criminal investigation was necessary.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said that she believes they lack the evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt, the report added.

“It is the responsibility of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to review all available evidence relating to the case involving Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave and the January 2023 collision death of Jaahnavi Kandula. After staffing this case with senior deputy prosecuting attorneys and office leadership, I have determined that we lack sufficient evidence under Washington State law to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.” The statement also said that the prosecutor’s office also finds the comments made by Seattle Police Officer Daniel Auderer, recorded on his body-worn video, “appalling and deeply troubling.” Auderer, who was not involved in the January collision, was captured in the video saying, “But she is dead” and laughing while on the phone.

She was 26 anyway,” Auderer said in the video. “She had limited value.” “Officer Auderer’s comments were also unprofessional and undermined the public’s trust in the Seattle Police Department and law enforcement in general,” said Manion.

“As egregious as Officer Auderer’s comments are, they do not change the PAO’s legal analysis into the conduct of Officer Dave. It is the Office of Police Accountability that bears the responsibility of disciplinary investigation and proceedings relating to Officer Auderer’s comment, not the PAO.” Auderer was pulled from patrol in September 2023 and reassigned to a “non-operational position.” Auderer could still be fired after the fallout of his insensitive comments captured on bodycam.

Auderer’s chain of command and the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found he acted unprofessionally. For that, he faces the highest disciplinary range of nearly two weeks suspension up to termination, according to a disciplinary action report.

Before a final disciplinary decision, Auderer will have the chance to meet with Police Chief Adrian Diaz to disagree.

His disciplinary hearing is scheduled for March 4, K5 News reported.

Seattle local media reported that speed was the cause of the collision, as the speed at which Dave was travelling did “not allow (Kandula) or him sufficient time to detect, address and avoid a hazard that presented itself.” Dave was responding to a “priority one” call at the request of the Seattle Fire Department, according to the Seattle Police Department. According to the police report, the officer was responding to a report of a drug overdose.

The officer did not have his siren activated continuously. Instead, the officer “chirped” his siren at the intersection. He did have his emergency lights on, according to a previous statement from the police department.

In a memo to Seattle police, prosecutors wrote there was not enough evidence to prove Dave showed “conscious disregard for others safety.” A drug recognition expert responded to the scene and found no impairment in the officer.

Kandula was a graduate student at Northeastern University at the Seattle campus. The university said in January 2023 that they would award her degree posthumously and present it to her family. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Centre has issued orders requiring microblogging site X to act against some accounts and posts, the Elon Musk-led organisation has said, stressing that it disagrees with these actions and that the posts should not be withheld on grounds of freedom of expression.

The global government affairs team of X, formerly Twitter, said they are unable to publish the Centre’s executive orders due to legal restrictions, but “believe that making them public is essential for transparency”. The Centre is yet to respond to the allegations that were made in a post on X past midnight.

The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment.

In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however,…

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) February 21, 2024

“The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment,” the post read.

“In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts,” it added.

“Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending. We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies. Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making,” the post stated.

The microblogging site’s big charge is set to turn into the latest flashpoint in its run-ins with the government over the past few years. Back in 2021, the popular social media platform, then called Twitter and led by a different leadership, had objected to the Centre’s guidelines and expressed concern about the “potential threat to freedom of expression”. The government had then asked the platform to “stop beating around the bush and comply with the laws of the land” instead of “dictating terms” to the world’s largest democracy.

Interestingly, this comes shortly after a Norwegian MP nominated Musk for the Nobel Peace Prize for being a “stout proponent of free speech”. Musk’s record of pushing free speech on X has also been chequered. Following the takeover of the microblogging site, many have flagged a rise in hate speech against specific sections. Musk has, stressed that free speech, according to him, is that “which matches the law”. “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect,” he had said shortly after taking over Twitter. 

Amid strained ties between India and the Maldives, a Chinese vessel has entered the waters of the island nation and is set to dock in its capital Male. The 4,300-ton Xiang Yang Hong 03 is classified as a ‘research’ vessel mapping the floor of Indian Ocean. Sources in the Navy point out that mapping of the seabed can also enable submarine operations in the geopolitically-significant Indian Ocean Region.