BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A judge says a lawsuit can move forward against a Wichita police officer who fatally shot an innocent man in 2017 while responding to a hoax emergency call stemming from a dispute between two online gamers.
The death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch drew national attention to “swatting.” That's a form of retaliation in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities to descend on an address. The address the gamers used was old, leading police to Finch, who was not involved in the dispute. U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes on Friday refused to grant Officer Justin Rapp’s request for summary judgment in the federal lawsuit filed by Finch’s family.