SWAT officer Justin Rapp was responsible for the death of Andrew Finch in the year 2017. The officer had been working in the field since 2010.
Rapp, a former US Veteran, was also featured on the TV Cop show “Cops”. In April 2018, it was announced that Justin will not be charged.
The story of officer Raap and his case was covered on Netflix’s “Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet”. The episode was titled “Death By SWAT”.
Where Is Police Officer Justin Rapp Today?
Justin Rapp was given a temporary leave after the shooting incident. He was being paid and was placed on administrative duty.
Rapp had sued the City for the losses of wages she suffered following his case. He was not allowed to go for the regular duty or his second job until October 2018. Although, he was already cleared of charges by April 2018.
Rapp worked as a police officer for the city until he decided to work as a police officer at a university. Aside from these, he has kept a quiet profile. Similarly, legal processes involving him are still ongoing.
Talking about the shooting victim, Andrew Finch was a 28-year-old man, a father of two.
Wichita SWAT Member Justin Rapp Killed Andrew Finch In 2017
On December 28, 2017, the Wichita police force received a disturbing phone call from an unknown man. The voice in the call claimed to have shot Rapp’s dad and kidnapped his family.
After tracking the address, the Police rushed to Finch’s location, where he was seen living with his family inside. A moment later, a gunshot was fired at him. Andrew had died at the scene, while, authorities did not find anything suspicious about him.
According to the Cinemaholic, the call was made from California by a man called Tyler Barriss, who had faked the whole thing.
A controversial investigation had begun involving Tyler and officer Raap. The investigator later confirmed that the call was a hoax.
Shane Gaskill and Casey Viner, two gamers, were involved in the incident after they lost a $1.50 wager on a Call of Duty game online.
As the investigation progressed, Rapp was not charged. He had testified in the courts that he saw Andrew moving right to the officer. Thinking that Finch would injure or attack lives by an open fire, he had no choice but to pull the trigger. They had contacted Tyler who was notorious for swatting. Therefore, Tyler made the 911 call and provided the address.
An officer also claimed that Finch appeared to lift his hands and turn his body, during which point his right arm was not visible, and then his right arm appeared to rise up exactly in front of his torso.
Justin Rapp Faces Lawsuit From Andrew Finch’s Family
Andrew Finch’s family claims that officer Justin Raap has violated the victims’ fourth amendment rights. They also sued him for about $25 million USD.
The family went to the courts in June 2020 where Judge ordered that Raap will not receive immunity. The lawsuit went on to discuss several more officer-related shooting occurrences in Wichita, claiming that many of them were the result of excessive force.
The cops involved, according to the family, failed to do the bare minimum before using lethal force on an innocent guy.