On KUOW: SPD Knew Officer Who Struck and Killed Pedestrian Had "Checkered Past" But Hired Him Anyway
Andrew Engelson discusses his scoop on KUOW's "Soundside."
Earlier this week, PubliCola’s Andrew Engelson had the scoop that Seattle police officer Kevin Dave, who struck and killed 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk while driving 74 miles an hour last year, had a “checkered past” in Tucscon, AZ before SPD hired him in 2020. Dave was fired by the Tucson Police Department for failing to meet the standards expected of an officer after several troubling incidents, including two collisions.
In a series of emails, SPD officials tried to alert the department’s hiring office to Dave’s “checkered past”—specifically, an incident in which Dave was “likely driving drunk and was able to park his vehicle and walk away before the police could catch him in the act.”
In a police report Andrew obtained through a records request, a Tucson police officer described a 3am encounter with Dave, who came to a stop at a green light and began “staring at me as if he did not know what to do” before driving off at high speed, then stopping again in an alley and abandoning the truck. The officer checked Dave’s license plate and discovered the truck was under a mandatory insurance suspension, meaning it was not legal to drive.
Dave is still employed by SPD.
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