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‘None of this makes sense:’ Prank call victim’s mother pleads for answers

Posted at 2:36 PM, Dec 31, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-31 16:36:41-05

By AJ Willingham and Deanna Hackney, CNN

(CNN) — Lisa Finch, the mother of a man who was shot and killed by the Wichita Police Department in a prank call gone wrong, says she still has more questions than answers about the deadly encounter.

Andrew Finch, 28, was shot on Thursday in his home in Wichita, Kansas. According to the Wichita Police Department, officers were responding to an anonymous call describing a “hostage situation” at Finch’s address.

Three days after the incident, Finch said there is still blood on the carpet where her son lay dying. She also said she has gotten little support from authorities, did not get an opportunity to identify her son’s body, and has no idea where his body is being kept.

‘They didn’t give him any warnings’

“There are so many things I want to say,” she told CNN. “[The cops] have not been open and honest with me. They wouldn’t tell me where my son was at.”

She said the first time the police reached out to her was Sunday morning, when Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay visited with her and offered condolences.

“He said this should not have happened,” Finch said.

CNN has reached out to the Wichita Police Department to confirm this meeting and for comment on the incident.

Finch said the night of the shooting was a blur of confusion and violence.

“[Police] swarmed this house. They shot him,” she said. “They didn’t give him any warnings.”

Wichita Police Deputy Chief Troy Livingston said the responding officers shot Andrew Finch because he moved his hands toward his waist. Livingston said Andrew Finch was not armed and nobody was found dead at the home. He called the shooting “tragic and senseless.”

A California man named Tyler Barriss was later arrested in connection with the incident, and police believe he may have placed the fake call as part of a dispute over a video game.

‘Why did they handle it the way they did?’

After the initial incident, Finch said she heard little from the Wichita Police Department, but they searched her house and took some items with them.

“They admitted shooting him, and they took my screen for evidence,” she said. “What difference does that make? What difference does the rest of the house make? They went over this thing with a fine-tooth comb.”

Finch said she has found some solace in the public support offered to her family.

“People have been amazing,” she said. “Complete strangers — there was a couple last night who walked out in this cold to bring some money. And someone else, a stranger, set up a candlelight vigil outside of my house.”

“This really matters to people,” she said.

Despite her son’s death gaining widespread attention, Finch said she is frustrated by lingering questions and what she says is a lack of trust and communication between herself and the police department. She said her son didn’t even play video games, and the house where Andrew was didn’t match the alleged description in the phone call to police.

“Why did they handle it the way they did? You don’t open fire in a hostage situation,” she said. “None of this makes sense.”