WICHITA, Kan. — The family of a Kansas man fatally shot at the door of his home after a hoax emergency call wants the police officer who killed him criminally charged for his death, their attorney said Tuesday.

Police have said 28-year-old Andrew Finch was shot after a prankster called 911 last Thursday with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping at Finch’s Wichita home. They said the hoax call was a case of “swatting,” in which a person makes up a false report to get a SWAT team to descend on an address.

Finch’s mother, Lisa Finch, wrote a letter Tuesday to Mayor Jeff Longwell, police Chief Gordon Ramsay and other city officials saying an unannounced visit from the police chief three days after the shooting did not ease her heart and left questions unanswered.

“It goes without saying that our family is devastated by what has happened,” she wrote. “What cannot go without saying is why Wichita City leadership is compounding our grief and sorrow, by keeping my son from us? Please let me see my son’s lifeless body. I want to hold him and say goodbye. Please immediately return his body to us.”

Her letter also posed numerous questions, including asking when officials will return the front door, a computer, two cellphones, a video game and other items that were seized from the family’s home. The family also wants information on the protocol and training for officers as it relates to “swatting” calls.

Chicago civil rights attorney Andrew M. Stroth, who is representing the family, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday that what the “swatters” did was inappropriate and tragic. However, he said, the family wants Wichita and its police to be held accountable.

Police played the 911 call at a news conference last week. Police have confirmed that 25-year-old Tyler Barriss is suspected of making the call and was arrested in California, but haven’t offered additional details. He’s in custody in Los Angeles.

Kansas is pursuing extradition of Barriss, a process that can take up to 90 days, according to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett in a statement emailed Tuesday.

Barriss could appear in a California court as soon as Wednesday for an extradition hearing.


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