Swatting:  An Ill-Defined Crime with Potentially Deadly Consequences

I learned a new word on my drive home yesterday: swatting. Ari Shapiro, host of NPR’s All Things Considered, explained in this report that swatting occurs when a person falsely reports a crime in an effort to cause a large group of officers or a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team to converge on the scene. The prank is associated with video gamers who reportedly have used it as a form of revenge as well as entertainment. Swatting can be deadly. Last Thursday, a 911 operator in Wichita, Kansas received a 911 call from a man who claimed he had shot his father and was holding the rest of his family hostage at a house in Wichita. Police arrived on the scene and surrounded the house. Twenty-eight-year-old Andrew Finch, who was unarmed, came out the front door with his hands raised. When Finch reached toward his waistband, an officer shot and killed him. Officers now believe that the 911 call was placed from Los Angeles. The man suspected of making the call, Tyler Barriss, was arrested there on Friday on a felony warrant. He appeared in court today and said he would not fight extradition to Kansas. It is unclear what crime Barriss is alleged to have committed, but there are several possibilities. Potential charges.  Georgetown University Law Professor Neal Katyal spoke with Shapiro yesterday about the charges that could arise from the Wichita tragedy. Katyal said charges could include falsely reporting an emergency under circumstances likely to cause death or [...]