On December 28 of 2017, someone in California thought it would be amusing, while playing a video game, to call in a false report concerning a violent crime and give a random address in Wichita, Kansas. A few minutes later, the Wichita Police Department permitted its untrained officers to act as a SWAT team. A pig named Justin Rapp took aim and pulled the trigger within about sixteen seconds of an innocent by the name of Andrew Finch opening his front door to find out why there was suddenly so much commotion. No one spoke to Finch before he was shot. While Finch lay dying, his mother and two young children in the home were forced to stand outside, in snow, without coats and shoes. No ambulance was permitted near Finch until he died.
Fast forward to this morning: Justin Rapp will not be charged. The clear message here is that the police in Wichita can pretend that they have a SWAT team when they do not, pretend that they negotiate when they have not been trained, and shoot innocent people for no reason. Murder is legal there.
