Brickbat: 'Limited Value'

Seattle interim Police Chief Sue Rahr has fired Officer Daniel Auderer, the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, for "cruel comments and callous laughter" while speaking to another officer about a civilian death. Officer Kevin Dave reached speeds of up to 74 mph while responding to an overdose call, but he "chirped" his siren instead of running it continuously. He struck and killed graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk in an area where the speed limit is 25 mph. Auderer was caught by his own bodycam in a phone conversation with union President Mike Solan in which Auderer laughed and called Kandula a "regular person" whose life had "limited value." The King County Prosecutor's Office declined to file criminal charges against Dave, saying it "lacks sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Kevin Dave was impaired by drugs or alcohol, driving in a reckless manner, or driving with disregard for the safety of others."

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm certain the family of the graduate student will be comforted that the - um, I mean a perpetrator was brought to justice.

...until he's inevitably reinstated with back pay.

[mad.casual]

I must say, it's a bit... comforting... to finally get some brickbats that are actual, no shit, relatively open-and-shut cases of police abuse.

I was beginning to get the impression that sunny day of libertarianism had dawned and the only crimes or heinous acts police clearly committed were of the nuanced "cruel comments and callous laughter" or "responded to a call by talking to people and not arresting anyone" variety.

[AT]

I don't see it as police abuse. He wasn't fired for killing the girl. He was fired for being a mean jerk when discussing the matter.

Like, they regard his laughter and word use as worse than the actual fatality.

But, I mean, that's kinda par for the course for Seattle then, isn't it.

[Medulla Oblongata]

Kinda like that woman in Germany who said mean things about gang rapists, in that she got punished more for the mean things she said than the gang rapists got (apparently because they were migrants and their culture is different and we're supposed to excuse them because of that).

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Sure, Auderer cares about the safety of other people. But most clumps of cells that he encounters are not people.

[mad.casual]

Slightly, OT-

Fun 1-Question Pop Quiz:

“[I] want to wield my power the way I want without having to answer to the legion of people that just exist out there.” was said by which of the following?
A) A Presidential Candidate
B) Hitler
C) A Police Officer
D) A Sith Lord
E) The real life personal assistant of a sexual deviant, who’s trying to rewrite The Jedi as villains, complaining about the way society unfairly regards women/lesbians like her.

The answer may surprise you!

[Medulla Oblongata]

"I wanna say that people don't want me to exist as a gay woman,"

That's like 7 people (not counting Islamists who do want to throw her off a building). The rest of us really couldn't care less about who you're fucking.

Can't you just ignore them and make good content without some sort of victim agenda?

[mad.casual]

"Lesbian" has been the number one search term on PornHub for it's entire 17 yr. history. Even if she doesn't appreciate them the way they appreciate her as a gay woman, even if they don't appreciate her specifically, they clearly don't want to see her not exist as a gay woman and are like 6 orders of magnitude larger than the people who don't want her to exist as a gay woman.

If, given those categorical advantages, she really feels that way, and that it's accurate, she must be a really, really, really awful human being.

[AT]

many in the community said Auderer’s “dehumanizing laughter” heard on video was “more outrageous and disturbing” even than Kandula’s death.

That is one messed up community.

Oh, Seattle. Now it makes sense.

[LIBtranslator]

Immunity is not just for ATF agents murdering a busload of children anymore.