GUILTY KS - Andrew Finch, 28, killed by LE in 'swatting' prank, Wichita, 28 Dec 2017 *civil trial 2022*

I am going to post the article as it happened from the beginning:

Family identifies man killed in officer-involved shooting in SW Wichita
Wichita police shoot, kill man in west Wichita

Two people are critically injured in a shooting in west Wichita.

It happened a little before 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the 1000 block of West McCormick, near McCormick and Seneca.

[....]

Wichita police say one man is dead after a Wichita Police Department officer shot him on a call Thursday evening at a home near McCormick and Seneca in southwest Wichita.

[....]

Livingston says the case began about 6:18 p.m. when officers responded to a report that a man had shot and killed his father in an argument and was holding his family hostage.

On the call, Livingston says police prepared for a hostage situation and an officer shot the 28-year-old when he came to the door.

[....]

Police say the man shot by an officer was the only person injured at the home. The reports of a father being fatally shot prior to police arrival proved false.

Livingston did not say if the 28-year-old man had a gun. [....]

Eyewitness News has seen a Twitter exchange where users claim what happened at the southwest Wichita home was a "swatting incident."

[....]

At Thursday night's police briefing, Wichita Police Department Deputy Chief Troy Livingston was asked whether this was a "swatting" incident or a prank.

"We don't know, but obviously detectives will look into that angle," Livingston said.

http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Two-critically-injured-in-W-Wichita-shooting-467049153.html

Part of the twitter posts from the supposed swatter is in the link.

Call of Duty gaming community points to ‘swatting’ in deadly Wichita police shooting

Online gamers have said in multiple Twitter posts that the shooting of a man Thursday night by Wichita police was the result of a “swatting” prank involving two gamers.

Swatting is an internet prank where someone makes a call to a police department with a false story of an ongoing crime – often with killing or hostages involved – in an attempt to draw a large number of police officers to a particular address.

[....]

Livingston said the department received a call that someone had an argument with their mother, that the father had been shot in the head and the shooter was holding his mother, brother and sister hostage.

[....]

Officers went to the 1000 block of McCormick, preparing for a hostage situation and they “got into position,” he said.

“A male came to the front door,” Livingston said. “As he came to the front door, one of our officers discharged his weapon.”

Livingston didn’t say if the man, who was 28, had a weapon when he came to the door, or what caused the officer to shoot the man. Police don’t think the man fired at officers, but the incident is still under investigation, he said. [....]

“This call was little peculiar for us,” Livingston said. “(The call) went to a substation first, then it was relayed to dispatch, then dispatch gave it to us. We have a lot of information to go through.”

On Twitter, more than a dozen people who identified themselves as being in the gaming community told The Eagle that a feud between two Call of Duty players sparked one to initiate a “swatting” prank.

[....]

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article192111974.html

Andrew's mother says he heard a noise outside, opened the door, screamed and was shot. This whole thing is just horrible.

Mother reacts to son's killing by police

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article192131159.html

Omg. Wow. Just wow. What a nightmare!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

This is crazy! Gaming?!!! Really? And why exactly did the police shoot this guy?

Mother of Wichita man killed by police: 'The cop murdered my son'

The mother of a Wichita man who was killed by an officer responding to a false report says her son was "murdered."

Lisa Finch says she saw the red and blue lights in the windows of her home near McCormick and Seneca. She says her son, Andrew Finch, opened the front door because he heard something outside.

"He screamed and then they shot him," Lisa said. "He was unarmed. There were no guns found in the house."

[....]

http://www.kake.com/story/37160639/mother-of-wichita-man-killed-by-police-the-cop-murdered-my-son

A news conference is scheduled for 4 pm Central time and should be aired at the following link:

http://www.kake.com/category/314292/watch-live

This is just terrible.

This is not Wichita's 1st experience with a swatting call.

Police investigating west Wichita ‘swatting’ call

[....]

Sedgwick County 911 Dispatch received a hoax from a man who said he just shot his girlfriend with a shotgun, and his parents were in the home. He said he was going to shoot them too. Such hoaxes where SWAT teams are called out are known as “swatting” calls.

[....]

http://ksn.com/2015/10/21/police-investigating-west-wichita-swatting-call/

The FBI reports there are 400 reports of swatting every year.

What is 'swatting'?

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article192156209.html

Wichita police: Prank call led to deadly officer-involved shooting in SW Wichita

The Wichita Police Department Friday confirms a prank call led to the deadly officer-involved shooting of a 28-year-old man in southwest Wichita.

Wichita Police Department Deputy Chief Troy Livingston says the department's thoughts and prayers are with the family of 28-year-old Andrew Finch and with the WPD officer who fatally shot him.

"Due to the actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim," Livingston says.

Livingston says police believe this was a case of "swatting" where someone makes a false call to yield a response from a SWAT team to an address.

Andrew Finch's mother, Lisa Finch says she doesn't know who made that call to police giving them her address near McCormick and Seneca.

Police say when Finch came to the door, he was given several commands to put his hands up. Livingston says Finch lowered his hands toward his waistband multiple times, leading an officer to fear he was reaching for a weapon. That's when that officer fired, Livingston says.

Finch's mother, Lisa Finch disputes the report, saying her son was not given a verbal warning prior to the shooting.

[....]

http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Two-critically-injured-in-W-Wichita-shooting-467049153.html

https://twitter.com/KAKEnews/status/946887117447356417

"Body camera footage shows the seconds leading up to the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old Wichita man. Police say a prank call led them to the victim's home. "

perfectingpink said:

https://twitter.com/KAKEnews/status/946887117447356417

"Body camera footage shows the seconds leading up to the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old Wichita man. Police say a prank call led them to the victim's home. "

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That footage is next to useless, isn't it? And they always say that the shot person reached for their waistband.

It does sound like Andrew was told to put his hands up but I cannot imagine how confusing the entire thing was to him. I hope they catch the idiot who ignited all of this!

Jennifer17 said:

That footage is next to useless, isn't it? And they always say that the shot person reached for their waistband.

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I couldn't tell anything from the video other than what the officers were yelling. As far as him lowering his hands around his waistband, I thought the same thing.

This is the first time I heard of swatting resulting in someone getting killed. I know people have been injured.

Swatting is often committed by gamers.

I have seen videos of gamers getting swatted on YouTube.

Teen Reveals Motives Behind Swatting Celebs Like Justin Timberlake and Others
http://www.insideedition.com/entert...ting-celebs-like-justin-timberlake-and-others

Guerrero asked, "What’s the motive behind conducting these pranks?"

Lundeby answered “There could be some kind of rush or thrill out of it. There could be somebody that somebody doesn't like, you know and they decide this is how I’m going to get back at them and swat them.”

He says he's learned his lesson about "swatting" and will never do it again. But other swatters, like those who just sent cops to Justin Timberlake’s home, haven't gotten the message.


Those people who engage in swatting do it for revenge. They likely have deep seated issues.

LAPD: Los Angeles man arrested in connection to deadly 'swatting' call in Wichita
Wichita police: Prank call led to deadly officer-involved shooting in SW Wichita


The Los Angeles Police Department confirms it's arrested 25-year-old Tyler Barriss, of Los Angeles, in connection with Thursday night's deadly "swatting" call in Wichita.

The LAPD says Barriss was arrested Friday afternoon.

Information from the City of Glendale, Calif. shows that in October 2015,
Barriss was arrested in connection with making a bomb threat to ABC Studios in Glendale.

[....]

http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Two-critically-injured-in-W-Wichita-shooting-467049153.html

perfectingpink said:

LAPD: Los Angeles man arrested in connection to deadly 'swatting' call in Wichita
Wichita police: Prank call led to deadly officer-involved shooting in SW Wichita


The Los Angeles Police Department confirms it's arrested 25-year-old Tyler Barriss, of Los Angeles, in connection with Thursday night's deadly "swatting" call in Wichita.

The LAPD says Barriss was arrested Friday afternoon.

Information from the City of Glendale, Calif. shows that in October 2015,
Barriss was arrested in connection with making a bomb threat to ABC Studios in Glendale.

[....]

http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Two-critically-injured-in-W-Wichita-shooting-467049153.html

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Yes they can arrest him for making a false police report, but that does not excuse the police who went in there firing at a young man who opened the door to see what the fuss was about.

This is a horrible tragedy! I learned about this from an information security author's blog. He was the victim of a SWATter in 2013 after exposing a hacker, which gives him a unique perspective on this incident. He's also tracked down quite a few posts from the perpetrator, both before and after an account name change. I sure hope the arrest evidence sticks - the perpetrator's posts show no remorse or caring. Even given the police overreaction, if someone calls in a report of a domestic dispute turned murder+hostage situation, they surely don't expect the cops to walk onto the scene with lollipops drawn.

His article (very useful detail about the hoaxer's communications here): https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/12/kansas-man-killed-in-swatting-attack/#more-42076

He said the thrill of it “comes from having to hide from police via net connections.” Asked about the FCC incident, @GoredTutor36 acknowledged it was his bomb threat. “Yep. Raped em,” he wrote.
“Bomb threats are more fun and cooler than swats in my opinion and I should have just stuck to that,” he wrote. “But I began making $ doing some swat requests.”

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In some states, filing a false police report is just a misdemeanor and is mainly punishable by fines. However, in other jurisdictions filing a false police report is a felony, and I’m afraid it’s long past time for these false reports about dangerous situations to become a felony offense in every state. Here’s why.
If making a fraudulent report about a hostage situation or bomb threat is a felony, then if anyone dies as a result of that phony report they can legally then be charged with felony murder. Under the doctrine of felony murder, when an offender causes the death of another (regardless of intent) in the commission of a dangerous crime, he or she is guilty of murder.

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Question for our legal gurus, if any are following the thread. Is making such a fraudulent report a felony in both Kansas and in CA (where the suspected perpetrator was arrested)? Which state's law is applicable in this case - I'm guessing Kansas since that's where the false report was received and acted upon?


p.s. I have never been able to bring myself to type "swatting" or "swatter" - imo it trivializes the severity of the crime. I use "SWATting" and "SWATter" to reinforce the unnecessary jeopardy that the victims of these criminals are placed in. (MOO!)

Even a congresswoman who has tried to get federal anti-SWATing legislation passed was the victim of the crime herself after submitting a bill:

[url]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/opinion/swatting-fbi.html [/URL]

After she introduced the bill, Ms. Clark herself was the victim of swatting. She was watching TV with her husband when police cars pulled up to her house; when she walked outside, she saw officers with long guns on the lawn. Even though she knew all about swatting, she felt a “moment of terror about what was unfolding.”

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