Wichita to Pay $5M Over Swatting Death

The city of Wichita on Tuesday approved a $5 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who was shot and killed by a police officer during a “swatting” call in 2017 .

The settlement will go to the two children of 28-year-old Andrew Finch, who was shot by officer Justin Rapp as he stepped out of his house on Dec. 28, 2017, to see why it was surrounded by police , the Associated Press reports.

The swatting call was spurred by a feud between two online gamers over a video game, Shane Gaskill of Wichita and Ohio gamer Casey Viner. Finch was not involved in the feud.

Authorities said Viner recruited Tyler R. Barriss to "swat" Gaskill. Barriss, a Los Angeles man who was known online for "swatting," called police and reported a shooting and kidnapping at the Wichita address, which was the old address of Gaskill.

Barriss is serving 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 51 counts in April 2019. Viner was sentenced to 15 months in September 2019 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Shane Gaskill was sentenced in September 2022 to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud.