CNN
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An effervescent young woman with a bubbly laugh and a radiant smile. A stellar student on the cusp of earning her master’s degree. A beloved daughter making her mark thousands of miles from home.
That’s how Jaahnavi Kandula’s loved ones describe the 23-year-old graduate student from India who, police say, was fatally struck in a Seattle crosswalk in January by a city police car responding to a call.
Now, almost eight months later, Kandula’s family and friends are grieving yet again following the release of body-worn police camera footage that captured a phone conversation in which a Seattle officer laughs and suggests $11,000 as compensation following her death.
The video’s release last week has sparked outrage across the nation, especially within the South Asian diaspora – inspiring rallies, meetings with elected officials and online petitions demanding justice for Kandula. It’s also grabbed the attention of onscreen celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and Lilly Singh, who have posted online about her death.
“To know that Jaahnavi did what only a small percentage of girls in India have the opportunity to do, which is get an education and that too abroad, but…
