SEATTLE — A town hall was held Saturday morning with a panel of Seattle city leaders as many in the community continue to seek justice for 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula.
Nearly 10 months after she was struck and killed by an officer in January, many people are still feeling the effects, especially those in a community that considers itself overlooked.
"We come as an afterthought for a lot of people, so you all being here means that we will be seen,” said Deepali Jamwal, who organized the town hall in Seattle’s Denny Park. “I hope this is a start to something big, I hope this is a start to a revolution."
A group of city leaders gathered, like Jenifer Chao the director of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, who said she would, "Do more in South Lake Union, if this is where your community resides then let us meet you here."
This panel spoke in front of dozens of community members. Many attendees were of South Asian descent, advocating for fair treatment. One takeaway from the town hall is the resources the city is providing to Kandula's family. Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz said the city did what it could in the days following her death.
"Within that two-day period, we were already working with the family," Diaz said. "[We were] also working with community members to help get Jaahnavi back to home."
Diaz said there are some victim resources at the state level. Meanwhile, attendees also asked about the two officers who have made headlines after Kandula's death. According to Gino Betts, director of the Office of Police Accountability, the investigation into the officer who struck Kandula is in the hands of the prosecution office which is determining whether to file charges.
As for the officer who was reportedly caught on body camera making controversial comments after Kandula's death, Betts said he's been investigating that since August.
"By ordinance, we get 180 days to investigate the case which would bring our timeline to Jan. 29, I do not anticipate using all that time that we have available to us to complete that investigation," said Betts.
Some community members KING spoke with were grateful for the town hall and said it's another necessary step toward getting justice for Jaahnavi.
"Don't point fingers because that's not going to take us anywhere,” said one community member. “The thing that is going to take us somewhere is peace, staying together and helping each other."