Murder of Kyle Dinkheller

Murder of Kyle Dinkheller

Snapshot of Dinkheller's dash camera footage during the traffic stop, just before the confrontation and shootout with Brannan
Date	January 12, 1998 (1998-01-12) 5:34 p.m.
Location	Whipple Crossing Road Laurens County, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates	32°31′03″N 83°04′42″W / 32.517443°N 83.078321°W / 32.517443; -83.078321
Participants	Kyle Wayne Dinkheller (aged 22) Andrew Howard Brannan (aged 49)
Outcome	Dinkheller killed, Brannan wounded
Convicted	Andrew H. Brannan
Charges	Murder
Verdict	Guilty (January 28, 2000)
Sentence	Death (January 13, 2015 (2015-01-13))

The murder of Kyle Dinkheller took place in Laurens County, Georgia, on Monday, January 12, 1998, when Dinkheller, a 22-year-old deputy sheriff, initiated a traffic stop with Andrew Howard Brannan, a 49-year-old Vietnam War veteran. Dinkheller had pulled Brannan over for the offense of speeding; both men exited their vehicles and greeted each other normally, but Brannan became belligerent after Dinkheller told him to take his hands out of his pockets, sparking a verbal confrontation and subsequently a gunfight that ended with Brannan fatally shooting Dinkheller. The entire incident was recorded by the dash camera in Dinkheller's police cruiser and thus received significant attention throughout the United States, where it continues to be shown in many police academies for training purposes.

Dinkheller was armed with his semi-automatic service pistol, while Brannan was armed with his semi-automatic M1 Carbine. The two men fired numerous shots at each other, but the deputy was hit nine times in various parts of his body before he managed to wound Brannan, who was hit in his stomach. Despite this, Brannan continued shooting, then reloaded his rifle and fired a lethal shot into Dinkheller's eye, following which he fled the scene in his Toyota pickup truck. He was arrested the next morning, when officers found him hiding in a sleeping bag beneath a camouflage tarp, still within Laurens County.

While on trial, Brannan pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming in part that he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his military service in Vietnam. However, citing the footage on Dinkheller's dash camera, which captured most of Brannan's actions during the traffic stop, the jury found that the deputy had been murdered in a premeditated, torturous, and cruel manner. On January 28, 2000, Brannan was convicted and, two days later, sentenced to death. On January 13, 2015, he was executed via lethal injection.^[1]