In December 2017, an innocent man, Andrew T. Finch, was shot by a police officer. The police had been sent to the address by a so-called “swatter” where the tragic death occurred. The event is linked to the video game “Call of Duty” and a bet of 2 USD.
A terrible incident occurred in Kansas at Christmas 2017. We reported on this at Mein-MMO at the time.
According to current knowledge, the following happened:
Over a meaningless bet of 2 USD, two players from Call of Duty got into an argument and threatened each other with “swatting”. This is when someone sends a police SWAT team to someone under false pretenses.
One of the players contacted someone known for making such “swatting” calls, and indeed, the Kansas police was dispatched in high alert. The swatter told the police officers that he had shot his father, was holding his mother and sister hostage, and was considering setting everything on fire.
However, the swatter sent the police to the wrong address. The actual intended swatting victim, one of the Call of Duty players, had not provided his own address but rather one in his vicinity.
The Wichita, Kansas police moved in. A police officer subsequently shot a 28-year-old man who went to the door and allegedly made a “suspicious movement”.
This was the first known swatting incident that resulted in a death.
The incident is now 4 months old. We will take a look at what happened afterwards with those involved.
The Victim – A Law Named in His Honor
The victim of the swatting was 28-year-old Andrew T. Finch. A law has been enacted in Kansas in his name that significantly increases the penalties that can be imposed if a death or serious injury occurs in connection with a swatting incident.
Previously, it was classified as “negligent homicide”, which carried a sentence of two to eleven years in prison. Under the new law, one can face ten to 41 years in prison for this.
The “Andrew T. Finch Act” was signed by the governor on April 12 and is now in effect (via KSN).
The Victim’s Family
The victim’s mother, Lisa Finch, believes that her son’s death has at least brought about something good with the law. She believes the law can save lives.
The family has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Wichita and the police officers (via CBSNews).
The Police Officer – Tragically Mistook “Pulling Up Pants” for “Drawing a Weapon”
No charges will be filed against the police officer who fired his weapon, according to the district attorney. This is the result of the investigation.
Allegedly, 80 different video recordings of the incident were reviewed. The police officers state that they repeatedly told the victim to raise his hands. However, he did not comply with the request, but rather reached for his belt multiple times.
The police officers who were closer to the victim thought he was pulling up his pants multiple times. However, for the police officer who ultimately fired and some others who stood further away, it appeared as though he was reaching for a weapon. (via Wichita Eagle)
The district attorney says, “The shot should never have been fired. But the officer’s decision was based on the fake call.”
One must examine the evidence based on the circumstances that prevailed at the time and with the knowledge of the officer at that moment. In hindsight, one is always wiser.
The Swatting Caller: I Am an eGod
The alleged swatting caller, Tyler Barriss (25), is charged with negligent homicide and has been held at the Sedgwick County Jail since January 11. Barriss is awaiting trial there. Under current law, he faces 2 to 11 years in prison.
In April 2018, a bizarre incident occurred at the jail. Due to a software upgrade to the jail’s kiosk that was incorrectly executed, inmates were able to use the internet for a period of a few minutes. Normally, they can only check their jail account balance through the kiosk and have no internet access.
Tyler Barriss took advantage of the system error to send out some tweets. In the first, he asked, “How can I be on the internet when I’m still in jail? Oh, that’s because I’m an eGod!”
In his second tweet, he asked, “Okay, who spread crap about me! Your ass is gonna get swatted.” (via Wichita Eagle.)
The Call of Duty Players
The Call of Duty players who sparked all this misfortune due to the bet were not prosecuted.
Update 24.5.: There are new developments regarding the incident:
