Twenty years for prank 911 call that led death of innocent man

[struggle4progress]

By Michael Brice-Saddler, Avi Selk and Eli Rosenberg
March 29

... Tyler Rai Barriss, 26, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in November to 51 charges filed by prosecutors in Los Angeles, Kansas and Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. attorney’s office in the Central District of California.

Prosecutors say police responded to the home of 28-year-old Andrew Finch on Dec. 28, 2017, after a caller falsely claimed to be inside with hostages and a gun — a style of prank known as “swatting.” Finch, unaware of the false report, answered the door and was fatally shot on his porch by officers who had surrounded his home.

That call was later determined to have originated from Barriss, who was arrested several hours later in connection with Finch’s death. He told authorities he had made the call at the request of Casey Viner, 19, who had gotten into a feud with Shane Gaskill, 20, while the two were playing “Call of Duty” online.

According to prosecutors, Viner, of Ohio, contacted Barriss and asked him to “swat” Gaskill, who lived in Wichita. But when Gaskill learned he was being targeted, he dared Barriss to “swat” him and tricked the man into calling authorities to a two-story house on McCormick Street — an old address where Gaskill no longer lived, prosecutors say ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/03/29/prankster-sentenced-years-fake-call-that-led-police-kill-an-innocent-man/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.54577e636ef2&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

[912gdm]

1. he should have got life.

This wasn't the first time he did this.

[Oneironaut]

2. Tbh, calling swatting a "prank" undercuts how serious it is.

Usually the caller claims they have a hostage, or are armed. Pranks are usually harmless, whereas the purpose of swatting is to terrorize or possibly kill the victim.

[malaise]

3. Good

Rot in prison

[Ron Obvious]

4. There seems to be something missing here

How the Hell did the victim get shot to death by the police merely by answering the door?

[912gdm]

5. the swatter told 911 he had killed numerous people and had poured gasoline and intended to light it

the responding swat team thought the worst, that the call the accurate.

[Ron Obvious]

7. Thanks. Whatever sympathy I might have had for the swatter evaporated after reading that.

Still, it doesn't speak well for the training of the officers in question, IMO.

[unblock]

6. "... shot dead when an officer thought he saw him reach for a weapon."

Of course, no weapon, no hostages.

[customerserviceguy]

9. SWAT teams are well known to be in hair-trigger mode

I think the other two who participated should be locked up, too. Especially the asshole who gave the false address, he condemned an innocent person to death just as much as the shithead who made the call to 911.

[brush]

8. The caller on 12-year-old Tamir Rice should also be held accountable.

Also the John Crawford caller. Crawford was the AA man holding a bb gun from the store shelf in Walmart and shot dead by police after a caller phoned in to police.