Something you hear a lot from EMTs is that they take a lot of care not to make a medical emergency worse by adding to the number of victims. "Scene safety" is a big thing, the logic being that if you try to help someone in an unsafe way, you may end up just adding to the problem.

You'd think the same would apply to cops? Doing 75 in a 25 seems like the same kind of thing, especially in an area with pedestrians around. Doing 50 over to get to someone that needs help and hitting someone along the way isn't actually helping.

Oh, also:

Kandula’s death ignited outrage, especially after a recording from another officer’s body-worn camera surfaced last September, in which that officer laughed and suggested that Kandula’s life had “limited value” and the city should “just write a check”.

Jesus Christ, fuck the police.

Will not face charges in a court of law.

The law exists to avoid mob rule. When the law completely abandons any pretense of justice, that's when mobs become emboldened by necessity.

In a memo to the Seattle police department on Wednesday, the King county prosecutor’s office noted that Dave had on his emergency lights, that other pedestrians reported hearing his siren, and that Kandula appeared to try to run across the intersection after seeing his vehicle approaching. She might also have been wearing wireless earbuds that could have diminished her hearing

It's possible this was her fault, but there are an awful lot of caveats in there. This looks like a kitchen sink of possible excuses. But also, we should have definitive answers to those questions before deciding not to prosecute, shouldn't we?

"He might not have been at fault."

"Oh! Case closed."

So was she or was she not wearing headphones? That's something that should have been trivial to verify if true. Since it's a maybe I'm assuming she wasn't.

Also, why the fuck does a cop need to do 50mph over the limit for an overdose victim? Are we pretending he would have done anything helpful once there?

Fuck officer Kevin Dave.

I'd say anyone choosing to drive 74mph in a 25mph zone can be said to have disregarded safety. And if you haven't realized you are going 74mph in a 25mph zone, you shouldn't have a license, let alone be an officer.

If you ever doubt the power of unions look at the police Union.

“There is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Dave was consciously disregarding safety,”

so as long as i hit someone who has ear buds in while doing 75mph in a 25mph zone, i'm in the clear. way to victim blame. what a fucking joke.

She might also have been wearing wireless earbuds that could have diminished her hearing, they noted.

Might? Really, Might? She did or didn't, and she was listening to something or didn't. Might is just guessing and just randomly throwing out accusations. She might also have been robbing a bank and the police officer might also be a pedophile. What the hell is this?

The last two jury duty cases I was called for had the district attorney making very sure all the jurors knew that "even if the person the crime was committed to didn't want the charges pressed" and "if there's only one person saying what happened actually happened, that's all the evidence you need to know that it happened" while a non English speaking person sat in the defense side with a translator and a (I'm betting) court appointed attorney tried to defend them.

Meanwhile police are mowing people down at felony reckless driving speeds and the district attorneys are "lol, not enough evidence"

Get the fuck out of here with that cowardice.

It can be both: the officer could have been operating within the bounds of his responsibility, the victim could have been in a state with diminished hearing, and the tragic accident could be just that; AND the other officer could be a monumental racist shitbag who hates people and needs to lose his job and address that racism.

We can regret that this accident occured even as we hate the racist cop who disparaged the deceased and disrespected her as a person.

ACAB

Especially this guy

ACAB

Over the last several years I've come to despise the police and consider them more of a menace to the general public than any criminal organization at this point. That's really all I've got to say here, I feel like there's not much more I can do other than vote for non-existent police reform policy.

I fully understand why people find justice in their own ways outside the court system. ACAB.

Here's another relevant Guardian article:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/15/us-homicides-committed-by-police-gun-violence