Killer cop in "swatting" incident will not be charged

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The fatal shooting of Andrew Finch in Wichita, Kansas, drew national attention in December, as it appeared to be the first case of a "Swatting" call turning deadly. "Swatting" is a particularly nasty prank in which someone calls 911 and falsely claims to be involved in a dangerous hostage situation, drawing a SWAT raid to somebody else's home and terrifying the targets.

In this case, a Los Angeles man reportedly made the false call as a result of some video game dispute. Finch wasn't even involved in the dispute; the suspect, Tyler Barriss, was given Finch's address by the person he was arguing with. Barriss allegedly called 911 and claimed to have shot his own dad at Finch's address and to be holding a family hostage.

Police arrived armed and prepared for a hostage situation. According to Finch's family, Finch saw the police lights outside and—not realizing that his own home was their target—went out on the front porch to see what was happening. Ten seconds later he was shot and killed by police.

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This is a terrible decision for a couple of reasons. First, it reinforces a culture in which officers are permitted to shoot and kill anybody on the basis of their own fears and to believe the worst in any encounter. This law enforcement culture puts all of us at risk in every encounter with police. If a completely harmless man can be shot on his own porch and police can say they thought he was reaching for a weapon, that's a terrible way to protect public safety.

And knowing that police can avoid responsibility for these shootings actually incentivizes "swatting" calls. If police knew they could face consequences for reacting rashly to such calls, they'd be more careful. If they're more careful, their responses to these calls won't cause the results the pranksters want.

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