The German Linux developer René Rebe streams on Twitch under the channel T2sde. Last week, he received a surprise visit from the police during a livestream. He recorded the incident live on Twitch and complained about the officers’ actions.
You can see this in the video: The Linux developer was streaming when the doorbell rang, so the incident can be seen in a roughly 3-minute clip on YouTube.
There is a knock on the door and police sirens can be heard in the background. A voice that sounds military and determined asks: “Hello, is there anyone in the apartment? Are you alone – who are you?”
The mood changes from a normal tone to a shout of “POLICE!” In the video, officers can be seen walking past the screen with guns drawn and searching the apartment.
The situation seems to be easing, the developer is repeatedly asked to shut down the live stream that is still running.
Emails pretended the developer had killed his wife
This is what the developer himself sayst: On YouTube, the Linux developer explains what happened: The police responded to emails that had been written in his name. The emails claimed that the developer had killed his wife and wanted to take his own life.
Because of “imminent danger,” the police were dispatched in full force and “a good 10 police officers” stood in front of his door with their weapons drawn.
He also heard from neighbors that the police had cordoned off the entire street up to the next intersection, and that a dozen emergency vehicles had arrived, as well as firefighters, ambulances and an emergency paramedic.
Developer says: Checking the email for authenticity would have been enough
This is his criticism: The developer says he wanted to make the incident public and show the video to make it clear that “swatting” is not a US phenomenon, but has also arrived in Germany and Europe.
In addition, he believes that the police acted incorrectly here. Given the poor evidence, a team of two police officers or a test call would have been enough to solve the problem. A “minimal check of the email for authenticity or plausibility” would have been enough to avoid a major police operation. Because the email would not have been sent via the server of his company, which is registered at the address.
The police did not identify themselves and immediately handcuffed him.
Developer finds police deployment completely disproportionate
According to the developer, it is important that police officers are made aware of such known swatting patterns so that they act more cautiously. He considers such use of equipment and personnel to be “completely disproportionate”. It would have been enough to quickly google his name or the name of the company to see that he is active on YouTube and Twitch.
The Linux developer, however, is conciliatory: He praises the police for treating the victim in a somewhat humane manner and for surviving the incident. No material damage was caused either.
It would have been a nightmare scenario for him if everyone had been on their lunch break when something like that happened and the police had broken down the door. For an IT company in the security sector with an existing NDA, something like that would be completely unacceptable.
The fact that the developer is happy to be alive may sound a bit exaggerated to some, but it is not. In a swatting incident in the USA in 2017, an innocent man was shot. The “swatter” had sent the police to the wrong address: Call of Duty: Innocent man shot during SWATTING