Finch v. Rapp

Andrew Finch, a 28-year-old father of two young children, was shot to death with a sniper rifle by Wichita Police Officer Justin Rapp less than 10 seconds after Andrew stepped out on his front porch. 

 Andrew had committed no crime. He was not armed. He had not threated the officers or anyone else. In fact, the police had been called to his home because of a swatting prank that they failed to investigate before surrounding Andrew’s home. Andrew had stepped onto his porch to investigate why armed people were surrounding his home. 

 Andrew’s killing was one of 23 police shootings in the city of Wichita over the preceding five years—none of which were meaningfully investigated, and none of which resulted in meaningful discipline for the officers involved. Officer Rapp went on to be promoted to detective by the Wichita Police Department. 

The MacArthur Justice Center (MJC), alongside Andrew M. Stroth of Action Injury Law Group, Kansas civil rights attorneys Rick Bailey and Ben Stelter-Embry, and Bartlit Beck, represented the family in their lawsuit against the City of Wichita and Officer Rapp. 

UPDATE: The district court rejected Officer Rapp’s claim that he was entitled to qualified immunity, but it did not allow the lawsuit against the City of Wichita to proceed. Officer Rapp then appealed the district court’s decision to the Tenth Circuit, which reaffirmed the district court’s righteous decision to deny summary judgement to Officer Rapp, permitting the suit to go to trial. 

In March 2023, the Finch Family reached a historic settlement with the City of Wichita for $5 million. The settlement represents five years’ worth of tireless efforts on the part of Mr. Finch’s family, his community, and the family’s legal team to achieve accountability for Mr. Finch’s unlawful killing and larger pattern and practice of police violence with impunity in the Wichita Police Department.