City Settles for $5 Million in Lawsuit Over Deadly Call of Duty Swatting Incident

The city of Wichita, KS has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the family of Andrew Finch, who was killed by police in a swatting incident that stemmed from a Call of Duty match. The incident occurred in December 2017 and was instigated by two players, Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill, who got into a fight over a $1.50 bet. Viner recruited Tyler Barriss, a known hoaxer, to swat Gaskill. However, Gaskill provided the wrong address to Barriss, leading the police to surround Finch’s house, where he was fatally shot by Officer Justin Rapp.

Despite calls for accountability, Rapp was never charged for the shooting. The settlement comes after local officials declined to prosecute him. The incident was widely reported as the first-known fatal swatting incident and sparked concern about the practice in gaming circles. The settlement also follows reports of racist memes and jokes about killing people being traded among Wichita police officers.