Seattle City Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2 – South Seattle) is demanding a plan of action from the Seattle Police Department after a new article was released showing an off-duty Seattle police officer harassing a Chinese-American woman at her home, using both racist and sexist slurs. 

This comes just 11 days after a video was released of Officer Daniel Auderer, Vice President of the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild, saying the life of Jaahnavi Kandula was of “limited value.” Jaahnavi was a 23-year-old woman from India who was killed by Seattle Police just hours before those comments were made. 

Councilmember Morales Statement

Councilmember Morales released a statement saying:  

“This continued erosion of public trust is a public safety issue. 

How can SPD expect the public to trust them while it remains silent as these incidents happen? What does SPD leadership plan to do to regain control of the department, address its toxic culture, and rebuild this complete breaking of trust? 

The reality is that no other city employee would be excused from this behavior, where they can laugh and joke about killing somebody, spit racist slurs, and continue taking home a six-figure paycheck. 

When it comes to SPD, we need to focus on accountability first. The only way to rebuild public trust is to create a system that can act quickly and effectively to hold officers accountable. We know Washington State law empowers police unions, like SPOG, to negotiate away police accountability. It’s well past time to change that state law. Communities shouldn’t have to negotiate tooth and nail for basic police accountability measures.” 

Background 

As reported by The Stranger, Seattle Police Officer Burton Hill engaged in a racist campaign to drive a Chinese-American woman out of the condominiums where they all lived. Among other things, the reporting details incidents where Hill and his wife allegedly harassed her at her home, demeaned her with a racial slur, and tried to interfere with her employment at Seattle Public Schools, where she works as a bus driver.  

The Office of Police Accountability has opened an investigation. But, as The Stranger notes, Hill has faced four previous allegations of biased policing since he joined the force in 2016. The OPA did not find him guilty of misconduct in any of those investigations.  

Burton Hill, Daniel Auderer, and Kevin Dave all remain on the job today. To date, none of these officers have faced consequences or even been put on leave.