There need to be far more severe consequences when a streamer has his life placed in danger by some clown calling the police and pretending that there is some extremely dangerous situation so that the lowest 10% of high-school graduates can play Captain America and kick down the door of some gamer that weighs 115 pounds when he’s soaking wet.
It has resulted in fatalities in the past; these humans are calling on a force that is synonymous with brutality and an eagerness to shoot anything that doesn’t match their uniform because they’re hoping that someone becomes seriously hurt.
It’s a disgusting game to these sub-humans that, far too often, results in people not suffering the consequences of their actions.
Apex Legends pro ImperialHal was swatted just last night in an early morning swatting where the player hears a call of ‘Sheriff’s office’ with banging on the door; he calmly answered and complied with the officers that managed to not pull the trigger on the first human they saw.
Of course, accolades should be placed swiftly on the chests of the police officers that managed not to kill again.
Just got Swatted , Nice, everything is fine tho
— TSM ImperialHal (@ImperialHal) January 6, 2021
How did you track him/her down? And what kinda sentence did they end up with? Or are you not allowed to disclose that kinda stuff atm.
— GRINIGAMI (@grinigami) January 6, 2021
Is there more to that?
— lllPariahlll (@xKisame) January 6, 2021
How ImperialHal, a Team SoloMid streamer, managed to stay calm while officers were brandishing their pistols like flags during a pride rally, and he managed to continue to stream after the incident in a relatively nonplussed fashion.
Nah, I'd say those who do it should get life or at the very least be put on Row, because you're playing with someone else's. What if the Sheriffs office didn't announce themselves and barge in?
— Techington (@Techington) January 6, 2021
Even if we were to take a more police-friendly stance on the action, these officers are stepping into a situation that could be extremely volatile to only realize that a streamer is merely streaming: when they are actually called upon to keep a population safe, it’s difficult to discern whether there is an actual threat or if it’s another bad actor attempting to get people killed.
Casey Viner played a role in the Kansas swatting in December 2017 that led to the death of Andrew Finch: he received all of fifteen months in prison for his actions that appear to stem from an argument in a video game that didn’t even involve the deceased. The individual that made the call, Tyler Barriss, was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
These actions need to be far more harshly punished by law enforcement, although it again shows the generally bumbling incompetence of US lawmakers that consistently find themselves a solid decade behind the technology.
Reports of swatting are once again on the rise through the holiday season: a grim reminder to always ensure that you’re as safe as possible while playing, as you frankly never know what degenerates you’re in a lobby with.
