The 2017 Wichita, Kansas swatting was a swatting event called in by Los Angeles-based swatter Tyler Barriss, a 25 year old male, on December 28. Barris called in the threat due to a disagreement over a $1.50 bet on the popular video game Call of Duty.
Andrew Finch, 28, was fatally shot inside his home by Wichita police, who arrived in response to a false call of a homicide and hostage situation taking place at that address. Police claimed that Finch was not the intended target of the swatting, and was not involved with the Call of Duty game match. Barriss is held at Los Angeles County Jail without bail facing a felony charge of false alarm.
Video 2017 Wichita swatting
Background
Reports surfaced that the deadly series of events reportedly began with an online argument over a $1.50 wager in a Call of Duty game on UMG Gaming, which operates online tournaments including one involving Call of Duty. Two men, Casey Viner (known by pseudonym Baperizer) and Shane Gaskill (known by pseudonym Miruhcle), fought over friendly fire in the Call of Duty match, and causing them to lose both the match and $1.50 in wagers. The two gamers took to Twitter in an argument about the loss.
Viner threatened to swat Gaskill over the loss. Gaskill gave Viner an address in Wichita, believed to be a previous residence from which Gaskill's family was evicted in 2016. Viner then contacted Barriss and provided him with the address given to swat Gaskill. However, police are certain that Andrew Finch was not the intended target and had nothing to do with the bet. Finch was not a known gamer and had nothing to do with the Call of Duty match.
Maps 2017 Wichita swatting
Shooting
Wichita Police Department officers responded to Barriss' call and surrounded Finch's residence. Before the police presence was announced, Andrew Finch is reported by his mother Lisa Finch, who was at the scene, to have opened the front door "because he heard something." Mrs. Finch reports that her 28-year old son "screamed and then they shot him." CBS News reports that moments after Finch stepped onto his front porch, he was shot dead by a Wichita Police officer. Mrs. Finch reports the police then ordered her and other family members to "Come out with your hands up." The family was handcuffed and taken to the police station for questioning. Initial reports from Deputy Wichita Police Chief Troy Livingston stated that "A male came to the front door. As he came to the front door, one of our officers discharged his weapon." Livingston did not initially state if Mr. Finch was armed, or what caused the officer to fire his weapon. In a later statement on Dec. 30th, the Wichita Police Dept. stated the shooting was caused by Andrew Finch "reaching into his waistband." The Wichita police have so far refused to release the name of the officer involved, identifying him only as a seven-year veteran of the force. It was then revealed that the 911 caller, Tyler Barriss, remained on the phone with the 911 operator throughout the incident and for at least 16 minutes after Andrew Finch was shot. The Wichita Police Dept. have refused to answer questions about when Mr. Finch was given his first verbal command, when the 911 call ended, or whether officers at the scene were aware the caller was still on the phone with 911. Sedgwick County Department of Emergency Communications has also denied an open records request pertaining to the 911 call, stating the police department had asked that no more records be released.
Aftermath
Many Wichita residents and other US-based commentators have expressed concern or outrage over the police shooting of Mr. Finch. Wichita residents used the opportunity of a City Council meeting on January 9th to voice concerns on the subject, including questioning the editing of the police body cam footage to a mere 7 seconds, and arguing the city should assume full responsibility in order to avoid a lengthy struggle by the Finch family for justice. The Council did not comment directly, but indicated a willingness to consider training procedures at a later time. Nearly a week after the shooting, Andrew Finch's mother Lisa Finch wrote to the Wichita mayor and police chief stating that she doesn't know where they're keeping her son's body and she wants to give him a "proper funeral service and burial." "Please let me see my son's lifeless body," she wrote in a letter dated January 3rd. In this same letter, Mrs. Finch asked why the police officer who killed her son hadn't been identified, why the family was handcuffed, and when police will return their belongings, "including two cell phones and a computer, seized from the house." The family attorney, Andrew M Stroth, has also called for the city, police department, and officer involved in the shooting to be held liable "for the unjustified shooting of Andrew Finch."
Parties involved
- Shooting victim
- Andrew Thomas Finch, aged 28; father of two, who had no affiliation with either of the three men or the game Call Of Duty.
- Call of Duty players
- Casey "Baperizer" Viner,18; of North College Hill, Ohio
- Shane "Miruhcle" Gaskill; of Wichita, Kansas
- 911 caller
- Tyler Raj Barriss, 25; Barriss was arrested a day after being interviewed by Daniel Keem on his YouTube series DramaAlert.
- Wichita Police Department Officer
- Name has not been released; however he is described as a 7-year veteran and is on paid administrative leave pending investigation.
Legal proceedings
Barriss was arrested on December 29 at his Los Angeles home on a fugitive warrant stemming from a 2015 charge of making false bomb threats to KABC-TV, and was charged with false alarm, a felony. On January 12, Barriss was extradited to Kansas where he was charged with involuntary manslaughter, and has been held in Sedgwick County Jail.
The Sedgwick County district attorney, Marc Bennett, announced in January that he was still reviewing whether any charges would be filed against the police officer, and that once he makes a determination that decision would be made public.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments