The police officer responsible for the death of Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula in the city of Seattle in the United States has been terminated from his post, The Seattle Times reported on Monday.

Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr informed employees via an internal email that the officer, Kevin Dave, was terminated for violating four department policies, including one that requires officers to be responsible while operating a patrol vehicle and another about using emergency lights.

On January 23, 2023, Kandula was hit by a police car being driven by Kevin Dave while she was crossing the street. Dave was said to have been driving at a speed of over 119 kilometres per hour while responding to a call regarding an overdose case.

The student was thrown over 100 feet due to the impact. She died later that night.

“I believe the officer did not intend to hurt anyone that night and that he was trying to get to a possible overdose victim as quickly as possible,” Rahr wrote in her email on Monday. “However, I cannot accept the tragic consequences of his dangerous driving.”

The announcement about Dave’s dismissal comes almost a year after prosecutors had in February 2024, said that there was not enough evidence to prove a criminal case beyond reasonable doubt against Dave.

The case had sparked outrage after a video surfaced on social media in September 2023, showing another officer laughing at Kandula’s death. In a video clip that was widely shared on social media, the other officer, Daniel Auderer, was heard laughing about the crash and saying that Kandula had “limited value” owing to her age.

It prompted the Indian Consulate General in San Francisco to urge authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

In July 2024, Auderer was fired from the forces for his “vile, inhumane, disturbing, derogatory and disrespectful” comments.

Kandula, a 23-year-old master’s student from Andhra Pradesh, was pursuing a degree at Seattle’s Northeastern University.