Man dies in a "swatting" prank

[Crossbred]

10 hours ago, AshleyAshes said:

So, you believe that if a police officer is instructed that a murder has occurred, with unknown individuals inside, from that point onward the police officer is weapons free to execute citizens at will without due process?  Because that's what you've basically said.  Since someone reported an incident within from that point onward that the police officer should face no legal expectation to be responsible for their actions.

The police were lied to to the point that they thought that their lives may be in danger because of a person in that house. If a person who could have matched that description reached into their waist, which could be confused for drawing a weapon, that could be considered self-defense. If the officer had only one of the above instigations (the call or the reaching in the waist) that would almost certainly be murder.

 

6 hours ago, patrick3027 said:

I don't really understand what this whole swatting thing is (and I didn't bother readiung the thread to be honest), but isn't the most stupid guy in this wholme affair the policemen who shot an innocent guy unarmed opening his door?

No, read the story.

[AshleyAshes]

1 minute ago, Crossbred said:

lied to

You put that in bold, clearly for emphasis.  Why exactly does the police being lied to in any way reduce the level of responsibility a police officer would have in their usage of deadly force?

[Crossbred]

11 hours ago, Orangeator said:

I was just about to post this. This story crosses the line. Absolutely should not be tolerated. Sure the officer is at fault to a degree, but his info was that the dad killed half the family inside. So personally I wouldn't find him guilty if I was a juror. Now this prick that thought this shit was funny should rot in a hole. Swatting is nothing but pure evil terrorism.

It’s not going to be about if he’s “guilty”, because it’s a fact that he killed someone innocent. The issue is likely whether it is murder, manslaughter, or something else.

 

17 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

You put that in bold, clearly for emphasis.  Why exactly does the police being lied to in any way reduce the level of responsibility a police officer would have in their usage of deadly force?

It doesn’t mean that. What I’m saying is that because he had sound reason to believe his life was in immediate danger, he shouldn’t be charged with murder. I think manslaughter might be more fitting of a term for the incident. 

I’m not discussing this further so we don’t delve into politics.

[Godlygamer23]

12 hours ago, Unimaginative Name said:

Wasn't that for a YouTube video. He was like "yeah, a book will stop a 44". So dumb. 

You know, if you actually believe something like that, you should hang the book on something, and fire the gun with no one behind the book.

 

So no one gets hurt or dies. 

[Doobeedoo]

Seriously it's like in Hollywood movies, man got shot cause of lowering hands to his waistband while hardly a threat when officer already is pointing a gun at him. Even so he would see if he grabbed a weapon and would have time to react anyway. Though impulsive gun triggering happened. 

Just my observation. 

[plsno]

12 hours ago, Noctus said:

I'd like to know how exactly did he get shot. If he answered the door and they just went PEW PEW, imo that's the fault of the law enforcement.... if not, i'd like details of the exact scenario he got full of holes.

 

note: I do agree swatting is retarded.

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article192244734.html

[AshleyAshes]

15 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

I feel like due diligence has already been given out when they've decided to send out room clearing service. Can you imagine if the police has to deal with lots of cry-wolf hostage calls? It could go "oh god is this another prank can we not" and have a larger chance to miss an actual incident, and/or "wow this job feels plenty hollow" because the guys treat every call with 100%.

...Uhh... They DO.  Police deal frequently with nuisance calls or inaccurate reports basically all the time.  People see someone carrying a camera tri-pod and think it's a gun.  Someone forgets their bag at the bus stop and it's a bomb.  Violent domestic disputes reported and it's just people playing the most excited game of Trivial Pursuit you've seen.  Do you have any idea how many police are sent out after 911 pocket dials?  Like, literally, all the time.  The expectation that the police must treat all incidents both as serious but also continue to be responsible for what actions they take, including usage of lethal force, does not drop despite all of this.

Bonus: Fire departments do the same.  They spend large portion of their time responding to erroneous fire alarms or other things misinterpreted as fires.  Every time the fire department rolls out ready to fight a fire and save lives.

 

The fantasy of 'crying wolf' and responders eventually not responding does not ACTUALLY exist in real life.  They will always come.  It's literally their job to come.  Any expectations of professionalism and responsible action upon arrival is never dropped.  That's what your taxes pay for. 

[A_Mediocre_Kangaroo_Farmer]

IT'S JUST A PRANK BRO

[CyberFern0]

13 hours ago, Unimaginative Name said:

I have a hard time understanding the mind of someone who thinks that this is acceptable in any way, shape, or form. It's blatantly illegal, incredibly dangerous, and it's a "prank" that nobody is in on. Childish, immature, and it cost someone their life and it will probably cost the two gamers freedom and the cop will have to live with the fact that he killed someone because of a false, petty bullshit.

 

To me, it's not a fucking prank, it's simply a crime.

It’s not just a couple of people. I guess some people show more sadism than others. Some blow up buildings just for the kick. Because of a $1.50 wager, a completely innocent, young man lost his life and his future. He probably has family members mourning for him, just because of a dumb “joke.”

[Mira Yurizaki]

Supposedly this is a tweet from one of the perps who was involved:

 

If it's true, wow.

[AresKrieger]

5 hours ago, Type 2501 said:

Your theory is the same as "because you can't stop people abuse drugs so don't take away their heroin".

Well in the US that actually would have lead to a situation without this level of police presence, prevent at minimum 1 war in south america (and issues in mexico) and saved billions upon billions of dollars so........not a great argument to use

 

Anyway fire the offcier as he clearly isn't cut out for being a swat member and hang the "pranksters"

[AshleyAshes]

9 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Supposedly this is a tweet from one of the perps who was involved:

 

If it's true, wow.

I'm sure which ever criminal defense lawyer he hires or is appointed by the court is going to be THRILLED about that post.

[Commodus]

Based on the history of this "swatter," he's a pretty reprehensible person.  Life in prison seems fitting for someone who clearly has no sense of responsibility, even when he gets someone killed.

[dizmo]

10 hours ago, Matu20 said:

People are stupid so stupid is bound to happen.

Haha, while I agree with that, it doesn't make you angry that it's a thing at all? Few things surprise me, but the fact that this person could both get away with it, and even if caught, likely faces a very light punishment sickens me.

I hope his friends turn him in.

10 hours ago, Energycore said:

 

Conspiracy to murder someone sounds like the correct charge. The cop should see some amount of punishment as well though, I agree that it was kinda trigger happy to shoot before actually seeing a weapon.

Kind of. Legally speaking murder doesn't fit. It's not accurate, because as stupid as the act is, even I don't think he intended for him to die. In Canada there's a charge called "conspiracy to commit offenses", not sure if the US has something similar to that as well. The person who actually called 911 though, well there's a whole ton of charges that would fit there. Involuntary manslaughter, misuse of the 911 system, reckless endangerment, breach of peace, false report to emergency services (if it's a law in that state), etc etc.

 

I don't think the cop should see any punishment if the reports of the suspect reaching into his waistband are true. You simply don't have time to wait until something is potentially leveled at you to pull the trigger. Remains to be seen though, the video was super small and poor quality when I watched it on my phone.

 

I find it rather sad and a little pathetic that everyone here is focusing on the officer who fired the shot, and not the people who instigated the situation and had it be a reality in the first place. Everyone's always so quick to jump down officers throats, when they're out there every day risking their lives to protect them. If all you saw was the shit of humanity every single day, you'd probably react a little faster.

 

We should be focusing on the assholes who find it funny to put others lives in danger because of a video game.

10 hours ago, johnukguy said:

American police are often poorly trained thugs, no wonder so many now will not call them for anything that isn't a life or death emergency, and even then. Those excusing the murders routinely carried out by US police need a short sharp dose of Karma themselves. It's this sort of obsequious idiocy that allows police states to develop.

Depends where you go. Some are excellent, some are, as you said, poorly trained. Hell some of the physical tests are a joke, and some departments gun training is something I can do and I don't even own a gun. You've got to wonder why anyone puts on the badge for the $15/hr some departments pay. You pay that kind of salary, you're going to get delinquents. It's not as cut and dry as you make it seem.

7 hours ago, patrick3027 said:

I don't really understand what this whole swatting thing is (and I didn't bother readiung the thread to be honest), but isn't the most stupid guy in this wholme affair the policemen who shot an innocent guy unarmed opening his door?

How do you figure? The officer, in a violence prone country where gun ownership is extremely high, responds to a very violent call, and when ordering the suspect to move he (reportedly) puts his hand into his waistband. I'd have shot too. You don't take chances in a situation like that. It's split second life or death decision making. Frankly I'm surprised they even managed the shot at the range they took it from.

5 hours ago, Princess Cadence said:

I mean it must be awesome get to your front yard and get shot to death without even knowing what the hell is going on, as much as the fault is of the person who did the "trolling" and he should be arrested for manslaughter however I do want to point out to the absurd lack of skill and preparation of the police into dealing with the situation.

 

This was literally shoot first ask later and it shows how the police was there with the intention to kill above all things, I believe the officer who shot or the officer in charger of the situation should be equally penalized for lacking the professionalism enough to realize the situation was very different than in the 911 call claim.

How would you tell it's a different situation from across the front lawn? If a suspect reaches into his waistband while being asked to get on his knees (reported, when I read the article), you take the time to wait and see if a gun is pointed at you, after being told by supposed person that he's armed, has killed someone, has 2 others at gunpoint, and is going to burn the house down? You treat every single person in that building as an armed and dangerous suspect.

25 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Supposedly this is a tweet from one of the perps who was involved:

 

If it's true, wow.

Yeah, I saw that. Engadget updated their posts on this with his current Twitter tag a few times (he changed it).

The fact that he said that, I hope, gets used against him in court to show he has no remorse for his actions, which are clearly the only reason a fatal shooting took place. If this person isn't caught and charged with a heavy hand I'm going to flip tables.

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

You treat every single person in that building as an armed and dangerous suspect.

Based off a single 911 call while the neighborhood looks pretty ordinary? Nah even on alert if the man did not have a gun on him there is no excuse other than clumsy work by the officers which should be put on office duty until an actual insight of it happens, it only really depends on the police officer:

Person fleeing after an armed robbery even threated to reach for the hand gun, did the police shoot him? no... was this a much more heated situation? definitely when compared to an ordinary house in the suburb.

The article doesn't provide all that much information, all we can do is guess as well, hopefully new information arises in the upcoming future.

[dizmo]

44 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Based off a single 911 call while the neighborhood looks pretty ordinary? Nah even on alert if the man did not have a gun on him there is no excuse other than clumsy work by the officers which should be put on office duty until an actual insight of it happens, it only really depends on the police officer:

Person fleeing after an armed robbery even threated to reach for the hand gun, did the police shoot him? no... was this a much more heated situation? definitely when compared to an ordinary house in the suburb.

The article doesn't provide all that much information, all we can do is guess as well, hopefully new information arises in the upcoming future.

I'm sorry, what? What does a neighborhoods looks have to do with anything? Violent crimes happen in all types of surrounding. Did you listen to the 911 call? It was quite long, there were multiple calls, and it wasn't just a simple "hey I have a gun and I might kill someone" call.

 

You simply can't compare situations. People have different mindsets, and before you try and say that cops should all be professional, you have to consider the fact that they're all human. Until we have widespread robotic officers, you have to take that into account. In that situation, the officers were beside him. Armed robbery is also a far cry from murder and hostage taking.

 

Also, the officer was put on desk duty. Don't assume they just go around shooting people and they're back on the street.

[mynameisjuan]

While I understand that American cops have to be careful since they cant risk being shot, SWAT should not use lethal force when at a residential home. 

 

Cops usually only have a bulletproof vest and thus if shot have a good risk of dying, so if someone reaches for ANYTHING I can understand why they take their safety first. SWAT however, are armored head to toe. If a person does reach for a gun damage could be minimal. 

 

Sad that this "prank" turned out in death over a god damn video game. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

5 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

 damage could be minimal. 

Body armor has its weaknesses, damage might not be as minimal as you think. Also they were responding to what they thought was a hostage situation, so there's not much of a reason to not use deadly force.

[jasonvp]

So: the gamer gave Barriss a fake address, and then Barriss made up an horrendous 911 call with said fake address.  Police have Barriss in custody now; I hope they find the gamer and make it a 2-fer.

 

Little dickheads.

[openthatchest]

everyone knows the swatter's twitter, right? e's done this multiple times. it's seriously not cool.

[DildorTheDecent]

16 hours ago, Unimaginative Name said:

Wasn't that for a YouTube video. He was like "yeah, a book will stop a 44". So dumb. 

.50 apparently. Go big or go home  

[Energycore]

Here's a video by Leonard French with a lot of details and information. Graphic content warning.

Spoiler

 

[Energycore]

1 hour ago, jasonvp said:

So: the gamer gave Barriss a fake address, and then Barriss made up an horrendous 911 call with said fake address.  Police have Barriss in custody now; I hope they find the gamer and make it a 2-fer.

 

Little dickheads.

Is barriss the swatter? Nice

[mynameisjuan]

1 hour ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Body armor has its weaknesses, damage might not be as minimal as you think. Also they were responding to what they thought was a hostage situation, so there's not much of a reason to not use deadly force.

Minimal but not death. Even with a hostage situation deadly force it not needed. Plenty of alternatives that will take a person down without killing them. Cops and SWAT shot when their own life might be endangered, with armor and multiple people, that risk is minimal to fire when a person just reaches for their waist. 

[Energycore]

10 hours ago, johnukguy said:

Do by all means post evidence that thousands are killed by police in Europe using vehicles. LMAO! What an utterly ridiculous argument.

The person you quoted never said anything about thousands, they said "plenty" which is a very different term. Thousands is something that you said.

 

3 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Supposedly this is a tweet from one of the perps who was involved:

 

If it's true, wow.

I love that logic. "I didn't kill him, I merely convinced someone else to use deadly force against him, totally not my fault.