Police in Kansas kill innocent man after prank emergency call

[Gerald]

(Reuters) - A police officer in Kansas shot and killed an innocent, unarmed man after a prank caller told authorities that he had killed his father and was holding hostages inside the man’s home, police said.

The 28-year-old man was killed during a standoff with police, minutes after they received the hoax call on Thursday evening, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston said during a news conference on Friday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kansas-swatting/police-in-kansas-kill-innocent-man-after-prank-emergency-call-idUSKBN1EO069

Sad story.

[Onkel Neal]

Yeah, I came across this one, too. Crazy people, how do you imagine the cop feels?

And this guy who made the call was arrested a couple years ago for making bomb threats. :hmmm: I blame the lenient Justice system. Anyone making bomb threats should be in prison for a long time.

[kilerkg]

I agree the sentencing for this needs to be very severe, at a minimum on par with 1st degree murder in my opinion. It's not only destroyed the family of the victim but also the officer, all for a "prank"

[vienna]

Apparently the cause of this incident was a $1 or $2 wager online over a "Call Of Duty" game:



Dexerto, an online news service focused on the video game world, reported that the fatal series of events began with an online argument over a $1 or $2 wager over a “Call of Duty” game in an online tournament operated by UMG Gaming.
"We woke this morning to horrible news about an innocent man losing his life," UMG spokeswoman Shannon Gerritzen said in an email to the Associated Press. "Our hearts go out to his loved ones. We are doing everything we can to assist the authorities in this matter." She declined to disclose other details.


http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-swatting-suspect-20171230-story.html


I hope they throw the book at the creep who made the call...







<O>

[Platapus]

I also fault the police. Regardless of what is reported, they have a responsibility to evaluate the situation properly before going all Rambo.

Especially since they know that this sort of stupid stunt is being done.

The police seem to be in too much of a hurry.

We really don't need nor want a "shoot first, ask questions later" type of police force

[August]

I also fault the police. Regardless of what is reported, they have a responsibility to evaluate the situation properly before going all Rambo.

Especially since they know that this sort of stupid stunt is being done.

The police seem to be in too much of a hurry.

We really don't need nor want a "shoot first, ask questions later" type of police force

I think we have that already.

Given the anti-police climate around the country and with incidences of officers being ambushed and assassinated they are understandably on edge but they should be required to actually see the gun before opening fire.

It's completely unacceptable for Police to open fire just because an innocent person accidentally makes a move that could (somehow) be construed as maybe going for a weapon.

.

[Platapus]

I just got through watching the body cam footage of the police shooting that guy in the hotel lobby. I actually felt a little queasy afterward.

I can't believe the officer was acquitted. I hope the jury saw that camera footage.

The police had the individual in a control position but made him move from that control position and then shot him because he was no longer under their control and he reached to pull up his pants.

Why didn't they just keep him in the control position laying down? Again, what was the hurry? The police had control of the environment?

But I understand that the officer probably feels bad about this so I guess we are all set.

[Haukka81]

USA police, nothing new. Full of rambos.

But stupid gun laws are problem too, makes polices work dangerous because every idiot can have gun.


Im really lucky that i live in europe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MaDef]

I just got through watching the body cam footage of the police shooting that guy in the hotel lobby. I actually felt a little queasy afterward.

I can't believe the officer was acquitted. I hope the jury saw that camera footage.

The police had the individual in a control position but made him move from that control position and then shot him because he was no longer under their control and he reached to pull up his pants.

Why didn't they just keep him in the control position laying down? Again, what was the hurry? The police had control of the environment?

But I understand that the officer probably feels bad about this so I guess we are all set.
Civilian policing + military tactics + minimal training = incidents like this.

[Platapus]

Civilian policing + military tactics + minimal training = incidents like this.

As I have posted previously, I have very strong feelings about the militarization of our police forces.

If I could add my viewpoints to your post it would read

Civilian policing + Military tactics + limited accountability = incidents like this.