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https://www.themarysue.com/swatting-hoax-deadly-wichita/
On Thursday night, Wichita police shot and killed Andrew Finch after he was SWATted as part of a Call of Duty dispute that he himself wasn’t even involved in. “Swatting,” which has a storied and disturbing history in the gaming community, involves bringing the local SWAT team down on someone by calling with a false report of violence at their address. It has been used against women who turned down other gamers’ advances, against live-streamers on Twitch, and even against congressional representatives who propose harsher penalties for online harassment. And now, against Andrew Finch and his family.
As The Wichita Eagle reported, gamers on Twitter quickly began pointing to an argument over an online Call of Duty match, run using UMG Gaming’s platform with $1.50 wager, as the starting point for the SWATting. “Two teammates [on the losing team] who go by the handles ‘Miruhcle’ and ‘Baperizer’ got into an argument following a loss,” summarized GameInformer, “over public Twitter posts and private direct messages with each other. Baperizer brought in a third party, a user who calls themselves ‘Swautistic,’ to threaten a Swatting against Miruhcle. For whatever reason, Miruhcle upped the ante by taunting Baperizer and Swautistic by providing them with an address in Wichita, implying that the address was his.”
The address was instead Andrew Finch’s, and Swautistic allegedly took the bait and called the Wichita police describing an ongoing hostage situation at Finch’s address. In a since-deleted tweet on his now-suspended Twitter account, SWAuTistic denied responsibility for the attacks … but didn’t deny making the call. “I DIDNT GET ANYONE KILLED BECAUSE I DIDNT DISCHARGE A WEAPON AND BEING ASWAT MEMBER ISNT MY PROFESSION [sic],” he tweeted. A caller claiming to be SWAuTistic also participated in an interview with the YouTube channel Drama Alert in which he admitted to SWATting Finch’s address. Engadget also has more of SWAuTistic’s tweets, which suggest that he has SWATted others and called in bomb threats before.
The Los Angeles Police Department has since arrested 25-year-old Tyler Raj Barris in connection with the case.
While this is absolutely an illustration of the worst of the worst in toxic online behavior, Andrew Finch’s death isn’t simply an issue of SWATting and the callousness of some online gamers. It is also yet another example of the poor training and resulting police brutality that’s endemic in the United States. “What gives the cops the right to open fire?” Lisa Finch, the mother of victim Andrew Finch, said to The Washington Post. “Why didn’t they give him the same warning they gave us? That cop murdered my son over a false report.”
The Wichita police department issued their own statement on the incident. They claim that Finch only briefly complied with verbal commands to put his hands up, and when he reached for his waistband, an officer fired one round which killed him. You can watch the released body camera footage and determine things for yourself, but be warned that it contains graphic content.
“The irresponsible actions of a prankster put people and lives at risk,” said Wichita Police Department Deputy Chief Troy Livingston. “The incident was a nightmare for everyone involved, including the family and our police department. Due to the actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim. If the false police call had not been made, we would not have been there … We don’t see it as a joke, it’s not a prank. It heightened the awareness of the officers, and we think it lead to this deadly encounter.”
However, the suggestion that “heightened awareness” should naturally make a SWAT team member trigger-happy only makes sense if your officers are, to put it bluntly, not particularly well-trained in deescalation or high-pressure situations. Police shootings in the U.S. are astronomically higher than those in other developed countries, and they aren’t even all reported to the FBI. Police training takes three years in Germany; it takes an average of 19 weeks in the United States. Only in the U.S. is it commonly accepted that “heightened awareness” and stress should make an officer – whose entire job is based around dealing professionally with that stress – more likely to pull out a gun. That absolutely needs to change.
Brianna Wu, herself a victim of horrific online harassment and currently a candidate for Congress, tweeted about the incident and the legal changes it should inspire.
Amazingly, Swatting people is not a federal crime. This matters, because these acts usually take place across state lines.
As your congresswoman, I would sign onto legislation that would put these criminals in federal prison. https://t.co/4BqhOZOZ9D
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) December 29, 2017
Humans tend to want one answer to a problem. But that doesn’t always work for complex issues.
I’m advocating for a federal anti-Swatting law. I also agree that training and accountability for law enforcement is paramount.
Both are critical. It’s not either-or.
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) December 29, 2017
RE: Federal anti-Swatting legislation:
Most people don’t realize this, but most of the laws for online crimes were written back in the 90s. Our congress is woefully, embarrassingly behind the times.
We need a congress that understands the Information Age.
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) December 30, 2017
This is a horrific incident in every way. No one should die because a stranger lost a $1.50 video game wager. No one should die because a police officer got jumpy. This was an entirely preventable death, caused by a stranger’s malice and a national crisis of police violence. It should never have happened.
(Via The Wichita Eagle, Game Informer, The Washington Post, Engadget, and BBC; image: Shutterstock)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
On Thursday night, Wichita police shot and killed Andrew Finch after he was SWATted as part of a Call of Duty dispute that he himself wasn’t even involved in. “Swatting,” which has a storied and disturbing history in the gaming community, involves bringing the local SWAT team down on someone by calling with a false report of violence at their address. It has been used against women who turned down other gamers’ advances, against live-streamers on Twitch, and even against congressional representatives who propose harsher penalties for online harassment. And now, against Andrew Finch and his family.
As The Wichita Eagle reported, gamers on Twitter quickly began pointing to an argument over an online Call of Duty match, run using UMG Gaming’s platform with $1.50 wager, as the starting point for the SWATting. “Two teammates [on the losing team] who go by the handles ‘Miruhcle’ and ‘Baperizer’ got into an argument following a loss,” summarized GameInformer, “over public Twitter posts and private direct messages with each other. Baperizer brought in a third party, a user who calls themselves ‘Swautistic,’ to threaten a Swatting against Miruhcle. For whatever reason, Miruhcle upped the ante by taunting Baperizer and Swautistic by providing them with an address in Wichita, implying that the address was his.”
The address was instead Andrew Finch’s, and Swautistic allegedly took the bait and called the Wichita police describing an ongoing hostage situation at Finch’s address. In a since-deleted tweet on his now-suspended Twitter account, SWAuTistic denied responsibility for the attacks … but didn’t deny making the call. “I DIDNT GET ANYONE KILLED BECAUSE I DIDNT DISCHARGE A WEAPON AND BEING ASWAT MEMBER ISNT MY PROFESSION [sic],” he tweeted. A caller claiming to be SWAuTistic also participated in an interview with the YouTube channel Drama Alert in which he admitted to SWATting Finch’s address. Engadget also has more of SWAuTistic’s tweets, which suggest that he has SWATted others and called in bomb threats before.
The Los Angeles Police Department has since arrested 25-year-old Tyler Raj Barris in connection with the case.
While this is absolutely an illustration of the worst of the worst in toxic online behavior, Andrew Finch’s death isn’t simply an issue of SWATting and the callousness of some online gamers. It is also yet another example of the poor training and resulting police brutality that’s endemic in the United States. “What gives the cops the right to open fire?” Lisa Finch, the mother of victim Andrew Finch, said to The Washington Post. “Why didn’t they give him the same warning they gave us? That cop murdered my son over a false report.”
The Wichita police department issued their own statement on the incident. They claim that Finch only briefly complied with verbal commands to put his hands up, and when he reached for his waistband, an officer fired one round which killed him. You can watch the released body camera footage and determine things for yourself, but be warned that it contains graphic content.
“The irresponsible actions of a prankster put people and lives at risk,” said Wichita Police Department Deputy Chief Troy Livingston. “The incident was a nightmare for everyone involved, including the family and our police department. Due to the actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim. If the false police call had not been made, we would not have been there … We don’t see it as a joke, it’s not a prank. It heightened the awareness of the officers, and we think it lead to this deadly encounter.”
However, the suggestion that “heightened awareness” should naturally make a SWAT team member trigger-happy only makes sense if your officers are, to put it bluntly, not particularly well-trained in deescalation or high-pressure situations. Police shootings in the U.S. are astronomically higher than those in other developed countries, and they aren’t even all reported to the FBI. Police training takes three years in Germany; it takes an average of 19 weeks in the United States. Only in the U.S. is it commonly accepted that “heightened awareness” and stress should make an officer – whose entire job is based around dealing professionally with that stress – more likely to pull out a gun. That absolutely needs to change.
Brianna Wu, herself a victim of horrific online harassment and currently a candidate for Congress, tweeted about the incident and the legal changes it should inspire.
Amazingly, Swatting people is not a federal crime. This matters, because these acts usually take place across state lines.
As your congresswoman, I would sign onto legislation that would put these criminals in federal prison. https://t.co/4BqhOZOZ9D
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) December 29, 2017
Humans tend to want one answer to a problem. But that doesn’t always work for complex issues.
I’m advocating for a federal anti-Swatting law. I also agree that training and accountability for law enforcement is paramount.
Both are critical. It’s not either-or.
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) December 29, 2017
RE: Federal anti-Swatting legislation:
Most people don’t realize this, but most of the laws for online crimes were written back in the 90s. Our congress is woefully, embarrassingly behind the times.
We need a congress that understands the Information Age.
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) December 30, 2017
This is a horrific incident in every way. No one should die because a stranger lost a $1.50 video game wager. No one should die because a police officer got jumpy. This was an entirely preventable death, caused by a stranger’s malice and a national crisis of police violence. It should never have happened.
(Via The Wichita Eagle, Game Informer, The Washington Post, Engadget, and BBC; image: Shutterstock)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Happy holidays! Are you already wrapping gifts? If you need some pretty gift tags, Leethal.net has provided some free printable gift tags featuring pretty watercolor images. Head on over to her site to grab the free printable files: [click here for free printable gift tags]
Looking for more free printables? Here are some you might enjoy:
The post Free Printable Watercolor Gift Tags appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.
Nerdist suggested that Michael Keaton should reprise his role as the Caped Crusader if there is ever a Batman Beyond film and all I have to say is an emphatic hell yes!
While Christian Bale in recent years has been the top favorite when it comes to live-action versions of the Batman, Keaton is usually close behind him, and my own personal favorite Batman. Batman Beyond is also one of my favorite cartoons and parts of the DCEU; in fact, Terry McGuinness is my favorite incarnation of Batman—which isn’t to say I don’t enjoy Bruce (depending on who’s writing him), but Terry was a more human Batman.
For those unaware, Batman Beyond was a television series that ran from 1999-2001 and took place 40 years after the timeline established in Batman: TAS—20 years after Batman’s in-universe retirement. Terry is a high school student who, after the death of his father, finds himself working under Batman.
Terry was kind of a juvenile delinquent turned good guy, like a well-written Jason Todd. Who could play Terry? Honestly, I think they should pick an unknown, because he’ll come in with a fresh slate, and there isn’t a long roster of other actors who he will be compared to in the role. When it comes to who would be perfect to play the older Bruce Wayne, yeah, Keaton is an easy choice to make.
Not only is Keaton loved and respected by the Batman fandom, but in this new stage in his career, he seems more willing to return to the role—from his performance in Birdman, where he plays a star trying to break away from being stereotyped as former superhero actor, to a return to comic book movies with Spider-Man: Homecoming, as one of the best MCU villains thus far.
Nerdist put it very well in their breakdown of what would make Keaton such a great fit for the role again, and how this will have something new for Keaton to work with even though he is the same character.
He’s angry, embittered, and lonely following decades shunning the Batman legacy (in the show, it happens when an aging Bats nearly has a heart attack during a rescue and his to pull a gun on the bad guy to save himself) and losing hold of his company. He’s still a wealthy man, but he’s lost, with only his dog as company. He then has to learn to re-enter the world through his begrudging friendship and mentorship of this teenage kid whose dad got murdered. That’s a lot to play, and Keaton is the best when playing someone with a lot going on.
Keaton is the perfect person to bring an older Bruce Wayne to life, and I think bringing him back into the DCEU world would do a lot to encourage fans who have been let down by the Justice League movie, or didn’t show up at all, to come back into the theater. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, especially 80s and 90s nostalgia, so what better movie than to bring in the Batman from that era to usher in the future of Batman on screen?
What’s more is that we’ve already seen Fox tap into the older superhero with Logan, and while I’m not suggesting that the DC movie universe take that idea entirely (they have already failed to properly understand The Dark Knight Returns so I’m not trusting them that much), going with an old Batman who has to know train a young person to take the mantle would be a great way to update the live-action storyline.
Batman as Bruce Wayne may be the most iconic version of Batman, but that character comes with a lot of baggage that the DCEU hasn’t been able to unpack. Ben Affleck’s “older” Bruce Wayne was good in terms of physicality and channeling the entitled persona of Bruce Wayne, but the script itself didn’t understand Batman. Or at least not the version of Batman I think most of us like.
While there is a definite fanbase that wants the gun-toting, clearly killing people Batman that is sort of campily done in the Burton and Nolan movies, BvS has a scene where Batman is legit gunning people down. This way of making Batman edgy doesn’t work because most people familiar with the mythos know that Batman doesn’t do guns.
If writers are struggling for a new way to reinvent Batman, especially if they do plan to use the “Flashpoint” storyline to clean up some of the rougher edges, then an older Batman is the way to go. Plus, we don’t know how long Affleck plans on being in this role, and with everything going on in his personal life I don’t think it is a priority for him.
The direction of making Bruce older is a good one and I think we need to go even older. The one role we’ve yet to see done right in the Bat live-action universe is Bruce as a true mentor. Batman Forever didn’t cut it. One of the best things about Bruce/Batman is the fact that he takes in lost children, that despite his harder edges he wants a family. LEGO Batman understood this.
So if the DCEU wants to reinvent itself, it’s time to go beyond and this is probably the best, and easiest way to do this while still giving the fans something to enjoy. Who doesn’t love a little Batman nostalgia?
(via Nerdist, image: Warner Bros.)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—