Swatting Lawsuit Cites Wichita Police-Involved Shooting Record

WICHITA, KS — The family of a man killed by Wichita police in a “swatting” hoax last month filed a federal lawsuit against the city Monday that said its police officers are more likely to be involved in shootings than their counterparts nationwide and should be held accountable along with the man accused of making the bogus call.

Andrew Finch, 28, was unarmed when he was shot and killed by a police officer the evening of Dec. 28 after a team of officers dressed in full tactical gear responded to the fake 911 call that seemed to report a kidnapping in progress at his Wichita home. Instead, investigators have said, the call originated from California and was made as part of the “Call of Duty” online game in which players try to get police SWAT teams to respond to someone’s home.

Tyler Raj Barriss, 25, of Los Angeles, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, giving false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer. He could face up to 11 years in prison if convicted. Barriss was not named as a defendant in the family's civil rights lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas, names the city of Wichita and 10 police officers as defendants and seeks damages in excess of $75,000. Andrew Stroth, the family’s civil rights attorney, was not immediately available for comment. Patch will update this story if we hear back.

Wichita police thought they were dealing with a hostage situation after receiving a call that gave Finch’s address and in which the caller claimed he had shot his father in the head, was holding other family members hostage and planned to set the house on fire. When Finch went outside to see what was going on, police told him to keep his hands in the air. Finch was shot by an officer who believed he was reaching for a gun, Wichita police said in a news conference a day after the fatal shooting.

"The irresponsible actions of a prankster put people's lives at risk," Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston said at the time. "The incident is a nightmare for everyone involved."

Stroth told ABC News that Finch’s family wants Barriss held criminally responsible, but said “the swatter didn’t shoot the bullet that killed Andy Finch. Responsibility for that case resides in that officer that used his high-powered rifle to shoot and kill Andy."

He said city and police officials in Wichita are trying to place the blame entirely on Barriss, but should also be held accountable. The family wants “justice and reform” so other families won’t have to experience the same tragedy, Stroh told The Associated Press.

His law firm, the Action Injury Law Group in Chicago, specializes in police shootings nationwide.

The lawsuit alleges that Wichita police officers are quicker to draw their weapons than other officers nationwide. Wichita Police Department officers were involved in 29 shootings, resulting in 15 deaths, from 2010-2015. The lawsuit also cites FBI crime statistics that show Wichita has a ratio of one shooting death for every 120 officers, a number that is 11 times greater than the national ratio and 12 times greater than the ratio in Chicago.

The FBI doesn’t collect statistics about swatting, but warned of the consequences of the prank as early as 2008. The agency told The Verge in 2013 that an estimated 400 swatting attacks occur annually.

"How can Wichita police department officers not be trained to deal with this type of situation?" Stroth told The AP. "Swatting is not new, prank calls are not new."

Lisa Finch, Andrew Finch’s mother, told ABC that police didn’t announce themselves the night of the fatal swatting call, stormed their home and placed the family in handcuffs.

"The police never announced themselves nor did they knock on the door, they never once let us know who was here, not one time," Lisa Finch said.

Barris, who has waived extradition to Kansas, is known as a serial swatter who has made at least 20 similar calls. After Finch was killed, he told KABC-TV in a jail interview that he didn’t intend “for anyone to get shot and killed.”

“I just wish I could have rewound somehow and just never done it,” he said.

The Wichita Police Department and Kansas Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation, and the case is under review by the Sedgwick County District Attorney. The police department is also conducting an internal review. None of the officers involved in the response has been named.

Finch has two children, a boy, 7, and a girl, who is almost 2.

"Andy Finch was an innocent victim, a 28-year-old man with two children, who lost his life because of an overzealous police officer and his high-powered rifle felt a threat that did not exist," Stroth told ABC. "Andy Fitch should be alive today."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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