The Wichita City Council in Kansas has reached a $5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the family of Andrew Finch, who was killed by police in the first fatal swatting incident in the U.S. over an online Call of Duty match.
According to The Wichita Eagle, city officials approved the settlement on Tuesday in a five-year lawsuit against Wichita police detective Justin Rapp, who killed 28-year-old Finch despite him being unarmed. The city voted 6-1 in favor of the lawsuit.
The swatting incident stemmed from an argument between Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill during an online match in Call of Duty: WWII in December 2017. Viner made a hoax call to the police, and Gaskill gave a false address to Tyler Barriss, a serial swatter who ultimately made a false report of a hostage situation and a murder. The SWAT then surrounded Finch’s house, and when Finch, who was unaware of the situation, stepped outside to see what was going on, Rapp immediately shot Finch in the chest from 40 yards away, even though he didn’t pose a threat to police or others on the scene.
Barriss, who was also linked to another swatting incident in Canada, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, while Viner was sentenced to 15 months and given a two-year ban on gaming for hiring someone to make a prank emergency call to police.
Meanwhile, Rapp had no criminal charges filed against him, nor was he investigated by Wichita police for any potential policy violations. Even though he was previously passed over for promotion for lack of sound judgment, he was ultimately promoted to detective last year.
As for the $5 million settlement, Finch family spokesperson AlmaAnn Jones said she was glad the community helped bring closure.
“It has been difficult to say the very least,” Jones said. “I’ve watched this family go through disappointment after disappointment after disappointment and finally today we came together as a community. We got this done.”
The settlement will cost the city council $2 million, while the rest of it will be covered by insurance.
Swatting has become a problem within the gaming community for the last decade, especially for Twitch streamers. In 2019, for example, then-16-year-old Fortnite World Cup champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf was swatted during a live Twitch stream. No one was injured at the time.
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Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
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