Former Seattle police officer files $20 million wrongful termination claim against the city

August 07, 2024 at 21:58 PM EDT

A former Seattle Police Department Officer has filed a tort claim against the City of Seattle for $20-million dollars after his firing for his body camera comments on a woman's death.

A fired Seattle police officer is suing the city for wrongful termination and damages after he was terminated for bodycam video showing what appears to be him joking and laughing after a woman was struck and killed by a patrol car.

Former Seattle police officer Daniel Auderer filed a $20 million tort complaint against the city of Seattle for damages weeks after he was fired for his behavior following the death of Jaahnavi Kandula, a 23-year-old Northeastern University student.

Auderer claims harm to his personal reputation, wrongful termination and mental pain and suffering. He is also claiming lost wages of $200,000 per year.

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Following his comments and recent firing after an investigation, Auderer maintained that his comments were taken out of context.

In the complaint, Auderer said in part, "Seattle PD leaked false information concerning wrongfully initiated disciplinary proceedings as well as my personal information."

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He also argued that he was wrongfully terminated because of his leadership role in the Seattle Police Officers Guild.

"SPD then wrongfully terminated me. This was retaliatory, at least due to my union leadership."

In a statement to FOX 13, Seattle interim police Chief Sue Rahr defended her decision to terminate Auderer.

"At the root of this case lies an extremely difficult judgment call of how to fairly balance ‘intent versus impact,'" Rahr said. "The actions [of] this individual police officer have brought shame on the Seattle Police Department and our entire profession, making the job of every police officer more difficult."

The 23-year-old woman was killed after a Seattle police car driven by another officer hit her.

In the body camera footage, previously released by the Seattle Police Department, Auderer is heard referring to Kandula as "a regular person and saying to, "just write a check — $11,000, she was 26 anyway, she had limited value."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Seattle Police Department and the city of Seattle for comment.