Andrew Finch was a normal man enjoying his December night with his family when he was shot dead at his door by Wichita cops.
His uncanny death called for wide national and international attention that year. Given the fact that the man had no history of crimes and wrongdoings, he died a silent death out of the blue.
The Wichita police were held responsible for Andrew’s untimely and careless death. The Finch family fought an emotional legal battle to bring justice to the passed away.
As of 2022, Netflix has brought forward “Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet,” directed by Brian Knappenberger, which depicts six crime stories on online activity and technology.
Kansas.com reports Andrew’s story is the first one and also the most popular part of the series as far as the review has reeled in since June 15.
Who Was Andrew Finch From Wichita?
Andrew Finch was a family man from Wichita who lived on West McCormick Street.
On the night of his death, he was having a good time with his big family, including his mother and other extended family members. He was a single father of two children, Danika and Aiden.
In front of his house, Mr. Finch was shot to death by Wichita Police Department officer Justin Rapp on December 28, 2018. To be precise, Finch became a victim of swatting.
Seattle Police has termed swatting as the act of creating a hoax 911 call typically involving hostages, gunfire, or other acts of extreme violence, with the goal of diverting emergency public safety resources to an unsuspecting person’s residence.
He died a sad and innocent death, and his family is left heartbroken. His death case became the first severe case of swatting in the country as the responsible people were held accountable with hefty legal proceedings.
Finch’s death has become a legacy as law and legal attention to swatting drastically changed and carefully looked upon.
What Happened With Andrew Finch? More On His Death By Swat
Andrew Finch heard police sirens outside his home that night and went to look at what had happened.
A special police force had surrounded the Finch’s home situated at 1033 West McCormick Street after they received a 911 call from an individual named Brian.
The dispatcher claimed he had fatally shot his father and was holding family members at gunpoint. He further asked if police were coming to the house, saying he had already poured gasoline all over the place and threatened to set it on fire.
Receiving such a serious case, the police immediately reached the mentioned home, where a veteran officer Justin Rapp shot Andrew after the latter came out of the house.
A video footage concluded that Rapp had shot Finch seven seconds after Finch had opened his door.
The traumatic scene was caused by two teens, Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill, who got into an online argument over a $1.50 wager in an online match of the video game “Call of Duty: WWII.”
During the dispute, Viner threatened to have Gaskill swatted, and Gaskill had responded by giving him a false address for his residence. Viner then asked Tyler Barriss to make the swat call to the address that Andrew Finch inhabited.
The late Finch had no connections to three men and was not a COD player.
The third person, Tyler Barriss, involved in the deadly case was a homeless man known online as “SWAuTistic.”
As he had a criminal record, including domestic violence and similar swatting cases, he was a wanted man in Panama City, Florida. Barriss had once made approximately 30 other bomb threats in Canada.
His misdeeds also include making false bomb threats against KABC-TV, an elementary school in Los Angeles, and a middle school in Granada Hills.
In 2017, the notorious “SWAuTistic” also accepted Viner’s request to make the fake call to Wichita police.
Andrew Finch Family Filed A Lawsuit Against SWAT
Andrew Finch’s devastated family had filed a lawsuit against the Wichita Police Department for their carelessness in handling the December 28 situation.
The late Andrew’s mother, Lisa Finch, has been vocal about her son’s unjustifiable death as the police shot him straight on his chest.
The police did not bother to look over the mentioned situation and apprehend the suspected Andrew, whom the police mistook as Brian, the swat caller.
Finch was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital seventeen minutes after being shot. Lisa Finch was further furious that the whole family was ordered to execute their home and were handcuffed.
The Finch family was taken to the police station for further questioning, ABC News reports on Lisa’s infuriation.
However, the officer who shot Andrew was not charged though he appeared on trial. The Finch family’s relatives and supporters disagree with the court’s decision as they strongly demanded Rapp be held accountable.
Meanwhile, the court sentenced Casey “Baperizer” Viner” to two years of community service and one year and three months in prison. He was 18 at that time and a student at North College Hill, Ohio. Shane “Miruhcle” Gaskill was sentenced to two years of probation. He is from Wichita, Kansas.
Likewise, the swat caller, Tyler Raj “SWAuTistic” Barriss, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. CNN detailed the court discussions and gave more insight into his past actions.
Though the three individuals faced legal wrath, the public and Wichita residents were unhappy as Rapp was not indicted.
Aftermath the incident and legal battles making headlines, the Wichita residents had called for a city council meeting on January 9, 20,18, to voice concerns on the subject.
The meeting also questioned the release of only seven seconds of the police body cam footage and argued that the city should assume full responsibility to avoid a lengthy struggle by the Finch family for justice.
The Finch family continues to honor Andrew’s death and hold ceremonies to aware the nation of such cases.