Support Indian American Community Services petition regarding police accountability and the death of Jaahnavi Kandula

#JaahnaviKandula #JusticeForJaahanavi

The following is a invitation from the Indian American Community Services both to sign on to their statement regarding the police killing of Jaahnavi Kandula and to sign a petition at Change.org 

To RantWoman listening to the voice of the Indian American community and respecting their formulation of concerns is NO BRAINER ally anti-racism, especially also considering the statement  on their website about #BlackLivesMatter.

IACS initiates petition for police accountability regarding "people of limited value"

The link to the Change.org petition is within this statement.

Key asks

 the IACS and its partners seek the following from the City of Seattle and Seattle Police Department:

1. Creation of an independent body to investigate Jaahnavi Kandula’s and other civilian deaths involving SPD officers, and report results back to the community in a timely manner.
2. Identification and disclosure all details of the fatal accident to the public including the high speed at which Officer Kevin Dave was driving. Provide clarity on what basis Officer Auderer had already determined that it was not reckless driving that fatally killed Ms. Kandula.
3. Release all of investigative reports from the Office of Police Accountability regarding this case to the public, providing full transparency.
4. Accountability for the three officers involved in the death of Ms. Kandula and subsequent events:
   1. Officer Kevin Dave who struck Ms. Kandula, resulting in her death. 
   2. Officer Daniel Auderer,  vice president of SPOG, who laughed about the deadly crash, dismissed any implication of responsibility or criminality, and demeaned Ms. Kandula’s life to be of  “limited value.”
   3. Officer Mike Solan, president of SPOG, who callously engaged in this horrific conversation with Officer Daniel Auderer.

Organizations supporting this petition include:

• Indian American Community Services (IACS)
• Asian Counseling Referral Service (ACRS) 
• Asia Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) Seattle
• Asia Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) East King County 
• Eastside For All 
• Indo-American Friendship Forum (IAFF)
• Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) 
• Pacific Islander Health Board of WA State
• Asia Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) South Puget Sound  
• Town Hall Seattle 
• AWU 
• Asia Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) Snohomish County 
• Refugee & Immigrant Services Northwest 
• Muslim Community Network Association MCNA
• Asian Pacific American Advocates of Greater Seattle 
• Indian American Friendship Forum (IAFF) 
• WA State Commission of Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA)
• Tasveer 
• Coalition of Seattle Indian Americans CSIA  
• Khalsa Gurmat
• Asia Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) Pierce County 
• 4 Tomorrow
• Africans on the Eastside
• Indian American Muslim Council IAMC – Seattle Chapter
• Humanize Homelessness and Dignity First
• Ambedkar International center, USA
• Ambedkar King Study Circle
• Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of Yakima
• Periyar Ambedkar study circle

A couple additional RantWoman comments.

--Jaahnavi Kandula's death is one of far too many car vs. pedestrian accidents in Seattle. Car vs Pedestrian accidents are increasing nationwide. Some of the factors common to many of them include:

     Poor pedestrian infrastructure

     High speed

     SUV's are more deadly than other vehicles and large vehicles are an increasing percentage of all road traffic. 

--RantWoman hopes that Jaahnavi's family has connected with an appropriate lawyer for the situation

--Initially, one of the pain points for the public was the delay in announcing that the person struck by the police vehicle had died. NO ONE anywhere on the planet wants to find out a loved one has died from the internet. RantWoman hopes the police handled notifications sensitively.

--RantWoman is seasoning a whole separate rant about black humor. RantWoman does find it hard to swallow the police department's claim that they were joking about how lawyers present cases because, drum roll please, the Seattle Police Officers Guild has spent decades getting help from lawyers to avoid transparency and accountability.

--The other point about black humor has to do with job stress, community stress, and more that needs to be said but not necessarily here.

One of the better videos RantWoman has seen

One of the most concise and focused articulations RantWoman has seen of circumstances related to the January incident where a police SUV driving at a very high rate of speed mowed down a pedestrian crosswalk. Also comments that speak to RantWoman about police reform.