Andrew Finch was killed by police following a fake report of a hostage situation at his residence. (Photo: Sky News)
The family of a man who was killed by police during a swatting prank wants the officer who pulled the trigger charged as a criminal.
Andrew Finch, 28, was shot and killed by Wichita police last week. Officers were responding to a prank call that claimed a hostage situation was unfolding at Finch’s residence.
The officer who opened fire “should be held liable and held accountable for the unjustified shooting of Andrew Finch,” the family’s attorney Andrew M. Stroth told CNN on Tuesday. “The city of Wichita and the Police Department are liable because of their policies and practices as it relates to this shooting. Swatting is not new, just like prank calling is not new.”
Finch’s mother, Lisa Finch, wrote a letter to Mayor Jeff Longwell, police Chief Gordon Ramsay and other city officials. She asked for information regarding police training protocols for “swatting” pranks. She also asked to see the body of her son. And to have her front door, a computer, two cellphones, a video game and other items returned to her, according to the Associated Press.
“It goes without saying that our family is devastated by what has happened,” she wrote. “What cannot go without saying is why Wichita City leadership is compounding our grief and sorrow, by keeping my son from us? Please let me see my son’s lifeless body. I want to hold him and say goodbye. Please immediately return his body to us.”
Swatting is a prank in the online gaming community in which a fake 911 call is made to police asking them to come to the victim’s home. In this incident, Los Angeles resident Tyler Barriss is suspected of making the call after a dispute during a Call of Duty game. He allegedly phoned Wichita police and claimed to have shot his father in the head. He also claimed to be holding his mother and sibling at gunpoint.
Andrew Finch opened the door to SWAT officers, who told him to put his hands up and move slowly. Deputy Chief Troy Livingston told reporters last week that Finch moved a hand toward the area of his waistband. Then, an officer shot him.
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While Finch’s family believes the officer and the department should be charged for this incident, criminologist B. Remy Cross at Webster University in Missouri told the AP that criminal charges are unlikely.
“It is sort of a fact of the world we live in now that it is very difficult to bring charges against police officers unless there is glaring negligence and misconduct,” Cross said. “While I certainly sympathize with the family — and I think there was probably not the necessary due caution exercised in this incident — I don’t know that they are going to necessarily be very successful in pushing for charges to be brought against the officer.”
It isn’t clear that Finch was even involved in the original dispute. Lisa Finch told CNN that her son didn’t even play video games.
Burris is expected to be extradited to Kansas where he will face charges.
I am a graduate of two civilian police academy’s and a supporter of law enforcement.
That said, I believe that problems like this one also stem from the fact that police officers see the world as “them and us”, them being “criminals” and us being the police “good guys”.
I know many law enforcement officers who agree with that statement.
If you see all civilians as criminals or potential criminals it is that much easier to shoot one in a stressful encounter.
If you are in contact with a law officer, put your hands up and make no other moves.
Your life depends on it.
I also believe that law officers should be held responsible for their mistakes, fatal or otherwise.
I’m not going to address who should be charged and for what. What disturbs me is the mother wants to know what the training protocals is for a swatting prank call. How the hell are the police supposed to know the call is a prank and not a real incident call? The better question is did e officer follow the protocal for the type of situation that was called in? The swatter called in a domestic murder/hostage situation. Any cop will tell you domestic/family calls are the most dangerous kind of calls. Did he foillow protocals?
Here is what I know about the use of deadly force. To use Deadly Force ALL of these MUST be present.
1. Ability. Does the suspect have the ability to cause death or serious bodily harm? Did the suspect have a weapon in which
to cause death or serious bodily harm?
2. Opportunity: Does the suspect have the opportunity to cause death or serious bodily harm? Did the suspect have the
opportunity to use the weapon to cause death or serious bodily harm?
3. Eminent Jeopardy. The suspect has the Ability AND the Opportunity, to put someone in Eminent Jeopardy of death or
serious bodily harm?
Without knowing all the facts of the situation at that exact moment of the shooting we as armchair quarterbacks can’t really say what is right or wrong. But using these guidelines with all the facts we can better understand whether the officer was Right in his actions or was he wrong.
There is no excuse for this to have happened!
1- Did anyone think to call the home and check out the story before even approaching the occupants?
2- Did the SWAT officers not think to remain safely behind cover to avoid the necessity of murdering an innocent citizen on his own front porch?
I suspect this may have been a negligent discharge by an adrenaline fueled cop, and they are struggling to come up with a cover story.
Last time I looked, the Police have this technology called “Caller ID” and would or should have known what phone was used to make the prank call. They also should have been able to locate the cellular tower where the call originated and it would have told them the call originated in Los Angeles, not Witicha.
Even if they were too stupid or didn’t have the capability to do so, they should not have responded to the call with guns drawn. Police have the ability to look in windows and use their ears to listen, before knocking on a door. Some departments also have listening devices that can be emplaced on the walls to amplify noise and conversation, all before knocking on the door. This should have been handled as a welfare check first, with SWAT standing by for back-up if the worst happened.
Police are paid to protect society as a whole and to take risks, that could end their life. Shooting first and asking questions later, breaking down doors in the middle of the night and then shooting the family dog for “Officer Safety” needs to stop. Unless you want a world where the safety of the police trumps everyone else’s life, things need to change and change fast.
As a kid, I forgot my key to the house and crawled in a back window to get into my house. A neighbor saw me and called the cops thinking I was a burglar. The Sheriff responded and rang the door bell. He asked me who I was and if I lived there. He asked to see my ID. The lone deputy never pulled his gun and I thanked him for responding to the neighbor’s call so quickly. Anymore, perhaps I was lucky to be allowed to live, as if this happened today, maybe I would have been killed if guns were drawn and my only “crime” was that I moved “wrong”.
If this Tyler Barris is found guilty, what he did is no different than murder for hire, only he used the police as his assassins. He should be put to death himself, the same fate shared by his victim. If you set off a “Bomb” and people die, that’s murder. If you file a false report and the SWAT Team kills your target, that’s murder, plain and simple.
Things need to change.
To be fair, caller id can be circumvented, spoofed and otherwise defeated, especially with some sort of smart phone. I would imagine that it is unlikely that it would be common practice for dispatchers to check what cell phone towers are being used to make calls.
Fire first, take names later, that’s not how it works. A close Investigation should tell us actually what happen. Let not jump to conclusion. Show your hands, put the weapon down, should have been protocol. If protocol was not followed, then a charge by a Grand Jury should be studied. But, as you know, only three Police Officers have been convicted in 2017, this year in America, The Police Department has a way of making the Police legal and not guilty
The issue is that police training now stresses shoot if you are afraid. If you have a weapon drawn on someone and they move strangely, it’s not a reason to shoot them until a muzzle is clearly heading your direction. If the level of training is to shoot if there is apprehension or fear on the part of the officer, it’s clearly going to lead to many innocent deaths. Blindly siding with law enforcement or authority is never wise, it leads to abuse.
I dare say that if your 15 year old answering your door was killed dead at night by a police officer that “feared” for their life because the kid balked or didn’t understand what was going on, you’d have a radically different opinion of police training as it relates to interaction and use of lethal force.
There is a lot or really bad case law that has been exploited on “reasonable actions” and lethal force by the police.
Until such time that police are held to the same standard as any other person, things are not likely to change.
If you think it can’t happen to you, I’m sure this guy didn’t either!
Yeah – funny how it’s not likely the DA will press charges…
It is a tragedy for sure, but any police officer responding to a hostage call is bound to be nervous. The bad part is that the person who was really responsible for this thought it was a joke. But, the officer, as nervous as he probably was, should have verified a weapon before discharging one of his own. There is no mention that the victim’s hands were ever out of sight, or that he moved quickly. Those would be mitigating factors, but they are absent here.
There also seemed to have been a problem with the release of the body. You shoot somebody to death, you do not need a major autopsy to figure out the cause of death. The man’s body should be returned, and the police have to investigate their own. And please have mercy on this mans family. This was an ugly, stupid, loss of life.
This appears to be a real tragedy for everyone EXCEPT the person who initiated the original call. This is very troubling. Two years ago, I was driving from Georgia back home to Kansas City. In the middle of the night about 3 am, I was north of Springfield and had been driving all night. I passed a truck because some was very close (I thought tailgating) and I was behind a large tank truck. I decided to pass the truck and then was speeding. The person behind me pulled behind me again after passing the truck….It was a Missouri State Trooper. I was stopped for speeding. Yes I was speeding. He was very nice. In an effort to make the environment clear to the officer, I told him that I was armed and had a Missouri permit. He was very nice and simply said ok ….don’t reach for it. Being tired and wanting to be sure that he know there was no danger, I foolishly pointed to the small draw in the low center of the truck dash at the drawer where I had placed the weapon (Glock 26). He immediately clearly (and loudly) DO NOT REACH FOR IT!
Sorry, guess is did not get the last part in. He was very nice and was very clear and efficient. I made the mistake of attempting to be too helpful. I can only imagine how bewildered this person must have been when he opened the door. There is a normal inclination to explain, show, or talk when you have done nothing wrong. But not knowing that showing, explaining exc. is a bad idea is no reason for this outcome. There seems to be the presumption of guilt based upon the original rather than the appearance of a weapon by the father. This father will never recover justice from this presumption of guilt. This is a sad situation. I presume that the person who created this situation will (or should have been) charged for this homicide. There are many victims —-the deceased, his family, and even the officer has become a victim of this caller.
I normally come down on the side of LEO but I can not here. True we do not have ALL the facts but we do have this one…the guy who was shot was not committing a crime.
Slice and dice the incident however you want but at the end of the day the guy who got killed did not commit a crime, he did not have a weapon in his hand, no lives were in eminent danger.
That being said what I was taught in CC class would have kept this man alive and I would hope the standard would be similar for LEO’s
Here in Minneapolis we have had some issues with this as of late and the standard for shooting civilians seem a bit loose.
Unwitting interaction with police should not be a hazard to ones life.
Rite there, but we never have all the facts when it comes to these situations because the LEO’s only protect themselves now days not us anymore like it used to be and is supposed to be “to protect and serve” rite
Murder no, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide yea.
If the guy was really holding hostages and just murdered someone he wouldn’t just open the door. Besides 911 can pull location so this is just wrong all around.
Some places will say 911 can’t but that’s bs. My backwards little county in S Florida can so a place like Witicha can
First off 911 does not reliably determine the address of the caller. I say this based on thirteen years experience dealing with it at work as a police officer who also worked some in dispatch. Number two, people will let officer in if they are doing stuff illegal. I once responded to a call where a guy said his wife had attacked him and wanted us to stand by while he got his stuff. I went inside and found her passed out in the living room floor where he had tried to strangle her to death. Another time had a woman who was hiding her brother(wanted on an out of state felony warrant for rape) in her house who invited us in to search her house. She figured we wouldn’t check the attic despite having heard a loud crashing sound after we knocked on the door and announced police and then found a large hole in the ceiling. She then insisted she had no idea he was up there despite the fact she was covered in insulation from the attic. Another woman decided she was going to stab her husband while we had them separated in different room talking to them on another domestic. A lot of people think they can lie and control the situation if they cooperate with police a little and some just don’t think.
Americans have the right to be armed. PERIOD. Reaching for your waist or even holding a weapon without firing shots is not a valid reason for an armed government employee to shoot the citizen. If anything the citizen would have been justified in shooting the cops.
Cop woke up one day wondering, is today the day i finally get to off someone?
The cop did not MURDER; possibly negligence, but no more so than a garbageman loosing control of a truck and crashing into someone. You may still be held accountable, but murder implies intent and actions to end a life. The “SWATTER” definitely should be held criminally accountable.
The armed government employee took aim at the citizen and deliberately pulled the trigger. Sounds like First Degree Murder to me. Let him die in prison.
Without actually being there I would have to side with the cop. Ask yourself, what kind of people do police have to deal with every day- Harvard grads? No, you deal with the dregs of society. I would ask anyone why you would choose a career in law enforcement if you were thrown under the bus daily by the public you are supposed to be protecting and your politicians won’t stand behind you if you make an error. Put the swatter in prison to rot.
Bullshit
I am glad not all of us are cop groupies.
And I am not so sure that being a cop should be a lifetime career.
Joefoam thank goodness you aren’t a prosecutor assigned to this case. This police officer clearly overreacted here and should not have discharged his weapon. It isn’t about being thrown under the bus it is about being held accountable for your decisions and subsequent actions. That goes with the job as officers have the ability to arrest people forcibly taking them into custody when they resist and also may have to take a life if the situation warrants. The mere act of the homeowner moving his hand to his waist is not justification for firing a shot as evidenced by the fact that the other officers did not take that action. These officers undergo many hours of different training scenarios where suspects actually reach for an object such as a cellphone and present it and officers must respond accordingly and not fire. Also, officers are trained to know that the person coming out the door may not be the perpetrator but may actually be a victim so hence don’t shoot!! Unfortunately when you make a mistake like this as a police officer the result is very different then shipping out the wrong part in a warehouse. The dick who made the false 911 call needs to be held accountable including criminal and civil penalties. The officer also needs to be charged criminally and he will have his day in court to defend himself.
I don’t think you would be spewing that dribble if it was your son who was shot. There is something wrong when law enforcement has no respect for life. Their motto is to shoot first and ask questions later then reward them with paid leave (vacation) before going back to work.
I would not blame the Police Officer in this situation. The information that he had was thought to be true so I think he probably did the right thing because if the information was true and he hesitated, He probably would be the one shot dead.
The idiot that caused this is the one guilty of this poor guys death. He is the only one, Not the Police officer.
Better 1000 dead cops than one innocent citizen harmed by the cops. Cops are very well paid to take risks. If they do not want those risks, then we need to start cutting bloated paychecks, ending platinum benefits and making sure that a cop cannot touch one dime of pension money until they turn 72. Citizens are more important than government employees.
Wowe, wow I’m not a huge fan of cops but they are not all bad allot of them are very good people just trying to support their families like most of us and are nothing like the trigger happy a$@holes that the others are, so please don’t act like that towards all of them
Well paid? Where are cops well paid? I make $16.79 hr. Even with overtime my paycheck isn’t near bloated. Why don’t you try my job for a month and see how well paid I am.
For the record I’ve never shot anyone, never even come close. I’ve been in situations where people probably should have been shot but other methods were used.
Ronnie, Same reply as to Joefoam. Thank goodness you aren’t a prosecutor assigned to this case. This police officer clearly overreacted here and should not have discharged his weapon. It isn’t about being thrown under the bus it is about being held accountable for your decisions and subsequent actions. That goes with the job as officers have the ability to arrest people forcibly taking them into custody when they resist and also may have to take a life if the situation warrants. The mere act of the homeowner moving his hand to his waist is not justification for firing a shot as evidenced by the fact that the other officers did not take that action. These officers undergo many hours of different training scenarios where suspects actually reach for an object such as a cellphone and present it and officers must respond accordingly and not fire. Also, officers are trained to know that the person coming out the door may not be the perpetrator but may actually be a victim so hence don’t shoot!! Unfortunately when you make a mistake like this as a police officer the result is very different then shipping out the wrong part in a warehouse. The dick who made the false 911 call needs to be held accountable including criminal and civil penalties. The officer also needs to be charged criminally and he will have his day in court to defend himself.
Ronnie you must of had public education where they taught you it’s never your fault, someone else made you do it. No one taught you to be responsible for your actions. So now you justify a trigger happy policeman with your corrupt values.
A call comes into 911 saying there are 10 people with guns shooting people at the mall.
Now keep in mind this is just like what happened above only bigger.
As the police units pull up to the doors someone sets off firecrackers inside causing people to run for their lives thinking there is a shooter inside.
As the people come running out the doors do the police start shooting?
I don’t understand people and the world today but if I’m inside the mall and be it real or some kind of joke I’m taking cover with my 1911 in hand.
This was more than a prank, it became a crime when the man died. Charge the caller with murder, 2nd degree if necessary to get a conviction. Also “with reckless disregard”. He “should have known” the possible outcome, just as shooting a weapon off in a heavily occupied area for July 4th which results in a fatality would (should) result in more than a mere manslaughter charge which allows the perp to get off in two years. Maybe the officer should have waited a quarter second more, but then he might have died if it were a real situation. The real crime was the fake 911 call.
I actually became a crime whe he dialed the phone to file a false report that caused an innocent life to be lost. 2nd degree murder, plus a miriad of other violations should be charged
Lots of eye witness experts.
How about you keep your prejudice comments to yourself and await for all facts to be released inside a courtroom.
It does initially sound like a bad shooting. But maybe the guy did in fact reach for his waist. Maybe he was inpaired by drugs or had a pending arrest warrant; reasons to want to flee. Or sadly, he could had just been startled and confused.
Line level policemen need better training and policies. Prosecuting the line level officer and not the leadership who failed to give him the proper tools shall only further perpetuate the system. Leaders who fail to train their staff need to be held accountable. Line leve patrolmen get very little training and almost no annual follow up training.
Most officers are overworked with the full time crazy police job and then work extra jobs to make up for the crappy pay. Then they are at work, in uniform, in a exhausted drained state relaying on caffeine and adrenaline to get through the shift.
In ending: let’s wait for the facts and if wrong was done, let’s look at WHY!
Not a question of “if”. Cops acted on a prank call, went to the house of an uninterested third party, and killed an innocent man.
The on “if” is whether or not you can actually understand the facts.
So should all future calls be treated as pranks?
1) Flush that little turd who caused all this
2) Give the mother bunch of money to shut up.
Problems solved.
The scum cop will get away with murder but that does not mean he can not be hunted down. The only good cop is a dead cop.
Trolling fool.
Dude, you just showed everyone that you may in fact NOT be fit to own a gun.
Nor a computer, for that matter.
Bobcat you are absolutely correct. Police have literally been getting away with murder for far to long. The basic Policy and Training police are operating behind is putting the general public in danger and what is really sad is that people still defend them when they kill an innocent. This “Afraid for their life”, or “as long as I get to go home to my family after my shift” is getting really old as well as dangerous….And about the idiot Cop in Vegas that discharged his Loaded Rifle into the ground and wounding an innocent bystander. Why the hell are cops waving chambered, upholstered weapons around indiscriminately, in a crowd of innocent citizens? And this carrying of loaded rifles with no regard for proper muzzle control breaks several basic safe gun handling rules….But is accepted as normal and following procedure for those in blue. What police have become in the last few decades is very dangerous to a free society and our families. This Terroristaphobia shit for an excuse and justification needs to end!
You said it Rusty. The badge bunnies will defend the worst sort of police behavior. I’ve always wondered why a blue costume grants special rights and privileges.
Agreed these are just people that applied for this job , they are not any different than any other person that puts on a uniform for work. Yet for some reason they have this excuse ” I was in fear for my life” and everything is ok. If youre so scared be a fireman. Maybe I’m in fear for my life when I see a cop pull me over, am I justified also ?
IMO the officer was trigger happy, I say this because he was no doubt hiding behind a police car and not standing out in the open. So how could he fear for his life. He could have waited too see what progressed and if he drew a weapon,which I doubt he had then he could have done something. He would have had plenty of time to see a gun coming out of his waste band,then do whatever he thought was necessary. What a shame an innocent person had to die for no good reason. I agree with the family,charges should be filed.
You are assuming facts not in evidence. Overruled!!!!
Reading comprehension fail, Ron. Go back and try again.
Whenever you see a department spokes say the words “moved his hand towards his waistband”, he’s really saying “Yeah, our officer straight-up murdered this guy and we can’t even come up with an excuse.” That’s always what they come out with when they know there’s no justification.
So you were there at the scene? I didn’t read that part in the article. You are making assumptions not based on facts in this case. Overruled!!!!
Didn’t you see the video? The officer is behind a car across the street from the door. The man opens the door, is flooded with lights and is told to raise his hands. As he raises his hands from where they were hanging at his waist he bent his elbows 90 degrees forward and his hands profiled against the white of his shirt. So, yes, there was a dark shape, but before the man could finish raising the hands above his head, the officer fired one shot and killed him. it all happened in about 3 seconds.
IMHO the cop was scared and jittery and made a mistake. The mistake cost an innocent life and should at the very least cost the officer his/her badge (and any future badges). I would even consider negligent homicide/ voluntary manslaughter charges against the officer, depending on the laws of the state. In the wildest of dreams, WPD and all other police departments would seriously review the training and psychological standards for all officers. I also like the idea someone else mentioned that police officer (like politician) should not be a life-long profession.
Your point is well taken. Unfortunately, what usually comes out of this is a full spectrum of interpretations and justice is NOT always meted out or even fully sought.
Granted that the officers approaching the house were already in a state of high alert, but once there, wouldn’t they realize that Finch might NOT have been so? Hard to say until all the facts come out and then we find out on which side the lies are being told. Then there are always the gaggle of “holster sniffers” and “badge bunnies” who automatically jump to their defense, no matter what.
But to address your statement about the waistband, someone’s wallet would be by their waistband, too, and if a tenant/homeowner who has done nothing wrong, why should they be expecting such a heightened response? That’s where the level of professionalism is expected of law enforcement. When departments have been looking for IQ levels of only 104, they can’t expect critical thinking during times of crisis. Personally, I’ll take an Andy of Mayberry any day instead of these stone-faced automatons with the wraparound sunglasses.
BR549, well said.
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MANSLAUGHTER charges for the cop and the swatting caller!
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John Bibb
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Two words
LAW SUITE
Get a BIG lawyer and file away and make them pay.
These cops and the city are going to close ranks and freeze you out, they are not going to admit to any wrong doing and they ARE going to stone wall this to the absolute limit. why? They know they are liable for huge damages here so get a lawyer and go after them. In the end the city or the cops don\’t give two shits about your sons life, they just don\’t, FACE IT and sue them to high hell because, what else is there at this point. HAHA, you still think the cops are the good guys…. WRONG!
Or maybe the cop was in fear for his life based on the reality of the situation. I don’t know because I was not there, so I will reserve judgment.
The one responsible for this tragedy is the young male who called the police and your indignation should be directed at him.
These guys that are always in fear of their lives, shouldn’t be cops. The caller is extremely complicit in this. but, he was not the one who showed up to the guys door with a gun. A man with a gun solely bears the responsibility in what happens with that gun period! Cops even more so. So stop making excuses for them!
Yes, the “I was to scared to not murder someone” rationale is ludicrous. Since indictments against police is so rare, the victims need to act in the civil realm. In addition to suing the department, the victims need to sue the offending officer in their personal capacity; this hits their assets instead of the taxpayers.