Court documents reveal the man behind the false 911 call that killed a 28-year-old Wichita man is facing a felony charge in Kansas for making a false alarm.
The charge is a felony but a rather low-level one that carries a maximum sentence of 34 months in prison. 25-year-old Tyler Barriss is being held without bail after waiving his right to an extradition hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court which will expedite his extradition to Kansas.
It is unknown if more charges will be filed after Wichita prosecutors have a chance to review the results of a police investigation but the family of the victim is calling for <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/15142-Mother-Of-Swatting-Victim-Wants-Officer-Charged">charges</a> against the officer who fired the fatal shot as well.
Barriss was arrested at least two times for making false 911 calls prior to the call that killed Finch. One such call was a bomb threat phoned in by Barriss against a Major League Gaming event and another was a bomb threat made against the Federal Communications Commission while holding a vote to repeal net neutrality.
<img src="https://media.8ch.net/file_store/364c44c347aa5425308bf3e73af74da97e7bf26483f3a72a921649f8127f120f.png" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">
<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: Krebson Security</span>
Barriss, who went by the alias "@SWAuTistic", was also caught bragging on Twitter about calling in similar threats against 10 homes and 100 schools. It is possible authorities charge Barriss with second-degree murder for unintentionally causing a death by reckless actions, according to a law professor at the University of Kansas named Elizabeth Cateforis.
There are however several red flags when it comes to the actions taken by police in response to the call. Barriss used a city hall phone number to phone in a hostage situation and murder, something that should have been a clue to police that the call was coming from outside the area.
If Barriss was truly in Wichita he would have presumably dialed 911 to reach authorities. Once receiving the call, 911 dispatchers called the number Barriss gave them and that is when he reported that he shot and killed his father and was holding the rest of his family at gunpoint. He also threatened to burn the home down.
Besides the unusual way the false crime was reported, there are several questions about the way police handled the contact once they arrived at the address Barriss gave. There should have been some type of investigation or supporting evidence to Barriss claim such as screaming, broken windows, smoke, injured people, anything that could have validated Barriss's false report.
The SWAT officer who fired the shot that killed Finch will say that he was acting to protect the other officers who were closer to Barriss, but if those officers didn't feel the need to fire their weapons, and they were the ones who were in close proximity to Finch, it should be difficult to prove that the SWAT officer's actions were justified.
Most likely, the officer will not be charged and the shooting will be ruled justified but we will have to wait and see. It is also possible that other parties be charged in connection with Finch's death, such as the person who provided the address and requested Barriss "SWAT" it.
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