[lolinder]

He was greeted at the door by 10 police officers with their weapons drawn who immediately ordered his hands out of his pockets and handcuffed him. That's about how a swatting episode in the US usually goes. I see no evidence in the dev's description that would suggest that this incident was less likely to lead to a death than the typical police response in the US.

[mxscho]

I agree that just from the picture side, this looks very similar.

However, in Germany, police is taught in a very different way than US: They are only allowed to use firearms as a last resort, and only to use it after non-lethal measures like the taser have been used beforehand.

They are also asked to only use it to wound, not to kill suspects. In contrast, US police is e.g. trained to shoot at the center of mass as they argue that anything else would be more difficult under stressful circumstances.

I see the situation itself as the problem (that fake reports can lead to it), but realistically, there is probably no way to avoid them compeletely, so just looking at the way how such interactions are going on from there on can make the difference as well.

[lolinder]

Just to be clear what we're talking about: I can find evidence of exactly three swatting deaths ever, with one being a heart attack, not gunfire. So two cases of police opening fire due to a prank call in the entire US in the entire history of swatting.

Those cases are unacceptable, but how confident are you that it's not that Germany hasn't had one yet by dint of much smaller population sizes and therefore fewer police calls, rather than different police training? Again: these ten police officers had their weapons drawn.

[mxscho]

It could be that there is no such case of someone being swatted and killed in Germany because of smaller population, or because of differences in police training. In the end, the pathway to police not having to draw their weapons is the path where unexpected threats are minimal on the side of the average citizen. Police is also a victim in case of swatting. Imho no need to be overly emotional about preventive actions focused on the weapons only if they are not possible easily, or if small number of problematic cases suggests lesser priority. I see different things to discuss first: Police blaming swatted victims. Police not allowing submission of warnings by victims beforehand.