On Wednesday, Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave admitted to driving negligently when he struck and killed 23-year-old college student Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk last year. In exchange for Dave admitting to the citation, agreeing to pay a $5,000 fine, and attending driving school, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office (CAO) asked the court to waive a 90-day license suspension for Dave. by Ashley Nerbovig On Wednesday, Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave admitted to driving negligently when he struck and killed 23-year-old college student Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk last year. In exchange for Dave admitting to the citation, agreeing to pay a $5,000 fine, and attending driving school, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office (CAO) asked the court to waive a 90-day license suspension for Dave.  The killing of Kandula garnered international headlines after the body-cam video of Seattle Police Officer and police union Vice President Daniel Auderer cackling at her death became public. The Seattle Police Department has since fired Auderer, and Dave’s discipline for his involvement in Kandula’s death is pending. Auderer has since filed a $20 million lawsuit against the city. At Wednesday’s hearing, Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) Judge Noah Weil accepted the negotiated settlement between the City and Dave, but added a condition for Dave to complete 40 hours of community service. The penalty guidelines for negligent driving allow for a judge to require up to 100 hours of community service, but Weil noted that as a law enforcement officer Dave “does contribute to the community.” “But I do want to recognize the impact this offense has had on the community as well, and so I’m going to require 40 hours of community service,” Weil said. Dave has 30 days to pay his $5,000 fine and about nine months to fulfill the court-ordered conditions of his sentence. Under the agreement with prosecutors, he can avoid a license suspension as long as he commits no new criminal traffic offenses over the next year and complies with all his other sentencing conditions. Dave’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment. CAO spokesperson Tim Robinson pointed The Stranger to the court records and said the CAO's office handled Dave's case like any other charge of negligent driving in the second degree with a vulnerable person. Robinson is correct that similar charges often result in no license suspension and, in some cases, the CAO may dismiss the ticket, even when a pedestrian’s death is involved. However, Dave’s position as a police officer shielded him from facing more serious charges, as state law permits officers to exceed the speed limit while responding to emergency calls. Earlier this year, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) declined to charge Dave with a felony vehicular homicide in the death of Kandula. Their investigation determined that on January 23, 2023, Dave hit Kandula while traveling at about 63 miles per hour as she crossed in a crosswalk at the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street in South Lake Union. Seconds before Dave saw her crossing, he hit speeds of up to 74 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. Dave attempted to break a second before hitting her. Investigators concluded that had Dave traveled at speeds closer to 50 miles per hour, he could have avoided hitting Kandula. After hitting her, Dave began CPR. The KCPAO found they could not charge Dave as they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he “consciously” drove with “reckless disregard for the safety of others.” After the KCPAO declined to prosecute, they bounced the case back to the Seattle Police Department, who referred the case to the CAO’s office as a citation. With Dave’s court penalties basically wrapped up, he still awaits a disciplinary decision from SPD connected to the killing of Kandula. In early November, the Office of Police Accountability concluded its investigation into Dave, finding he violated SPD’s policies around driving and not breaking the law, but Interim Chief of Police Sue Rahr has yet to decide on final discipline for Dave. Since Kandula’s death, Publicola has uncovered extensive examples of Dave’s poor driving history and a previous firing from another police department, all of which SPD knew prior to hiring him.