Four billboards have gone up in Kansas calling for the prosecution of a police officer after he shot and killed an unarmed man during a fake emergency call.
Andrew Finch, 28, was killed on December 28 last year after someone called 911 with false information implying that there was a hostage situation at Finch’s home in Wichita.
The man who called in fake report, Tyler Barriss, 25, of Los Angeles, has been charged for involuntary manslaughter, giving false alarm, interfering with law enforcement, and false reporting a felony.
Investigators believe Barriss made the bogus 911 call from Los Angeles after getting in a dispute over the online video game Call of Duty. It’s believed that the bet was over $2.
But residents are now calling for justice regarding the officer that shot Finch before he knew the circumstances.
Four billboards have gone up in Kansas calling for the prosecution of a police officer after he shot and killed Andrew Finch, 28, an unarmed man during a fake emergency call
The digital billboards have a red background with bold black text over it, although these are digital. They read: ‘Andy Finch is dead. If you believe in justice, it’s time to file charges’
Billboards have been put throughout Wichita in the style of the Oscar-nominated movie, ‘Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri’.
In the movie, a mother rents three billboards to call attention to her daughter’s unsolved rape and murder.
Just like the billboards in the film, the Wichita ones also have a red background with bold black text over it, although these are digital.
They read: ‘Andy Finch is dead. If you believe in justice, it’s time to file charges.’
Finch, 28 (left and right), was killed on December 28 last year after someone called 911 with false information implying that there was a hostage situation at Finch’s home. Tyler Barriss, of Los Angeles, who called in the report, has been charged for involuntary manslaughter
Investigators believe Barriss (pictured) made the bogus 911 call from Los Angeles after getting in a dispute over the video game Call of Duty
Wichita police have not revealed the name of the officer who fired the shot, and have only confirmed that he is a seven-and-a-half year veteran of the department.
According to The Wichita Eagle, an unwritten rule in Kansas law is that the name of an officer involved in a shooting is only released if he or she has been charged with a crime.
The officer in this case has not been charged.
Finch’s family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city in hopes of someone being held accountable and preventing a similar situation from occurring again, they’ve stated.
The group behind the billboards calls itself ‘Justice for Andy’ but who is running the group or paying for the billboards remains unclear.
Finch’s family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city in hopes of someone being held accountable and preventing a similar situation from occurring again, they’ve stated (Pictured, Finch’s home)
Lisa Finch (pictured, December 2017), the victim’s mother, says she doesn’t know who put up the billboards but wants to thank them
According to their websites, one of the billboards – range in price from $515 to $1,750 – depending on the frequency of the ad being shown, reported The Eagle.
Lisa Finch, the victim’s mother, says she doesn’t know who put up the billboards but wants to thank them
‘It makes me feel wonderful, I wish I knew who did so I could personally thank them,’ she told KAKE. ‘Complete strangers are willing to do things on behalf of my son and what that means to me as a grieving mother is indescribable.’