Murder of Kyle Dinkheller

On Monday, January 12, 1998, near the end of his shift, Deputy Kyle Dinkheller of the Laurens County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) in the U.S. state of Georgia, pulled over motorist Andrew Howard Brannan, for speeding. A verbal confrontation escalated to a shootout resulting in Brannan murdering the Deputy. Dinkheller's murder continues to get national attention (e.g., training in police academies) because the stop and shootout were captured on a personal video recorder Deputy Dinkheller had placed on his patrol car dashboard and activated when he stopped Brannan.

In the shootout Dinkheller was armed with his semi-automatic service handgun, Brannan had an M1 Carbine rifle. Dinkheller shot and wounded Brannan. Despite this, Brannan fired the rifle, reloaded it, fired a lethal shot into Dinkheller's eye, and fled the scene in his Toyota truck. The next morning police found Brannan still in Laurens County, Georgia, hiding in a sleeping bag beneath a camouflage tarp. Police arrested Brannan for the murder of Deputy Kyle Dinkheller.

Brannan pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming in part that he suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from his military service as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Because Deputy Dinkheller's video recorded most of Brannan's actions, the jury found he murdered Dinkheller in a premeditated, torturous, and cruel manner. Two years following the murder, on January 28, 2000, the jury found Brannan guilty of murder. On January 30, 2000, Brannan was sentenced to death. Nearly fifteen years later, on January 13, 2015, the State of Georgia executed Brannan by lethal injection.

Confrontation and shootout
Dinkheller encountered a speeding Toyota pickup truck near Dudley, Georgia, which he clocked at around 98 mph. The deputy pulled the truck over on Whipple Crossing Road, adjacent to Interstate 16. The traffic stop at first appeared to be routine with both the deputy and Brannan exiting their vehicles and exchanging greetings. Brannan, however, placed both hands into his pockets at which point Dinkheller instructed him to remove his hands and keep them in plain view.

At this point, Brannan became belligerent and yelled at the deputy to shoot him. He then began to dance and wave his arms in the middle of the road. Dinkheller radioed dispatch for assistance and issued commands for Brannan to cease his behavior and approach the cruiser. When Brannan saw that the deputy was calling for other units, he ran toward the deputy in an aggressive manner. Dinkheller retreated while issuing commands and utilized his baton to keep Brannan at bay. On Dinkheller's dashcam video, Brannan was heard shouting that he was a "Goddamned Vietnam combat veteran".

Despite commands issued by Dinkheller, Brannan walked back to his pickup truck and drew an M1 carbine from underneath the driver's seat, taking cover near the driver side door. Dinkheller positioned himself near the passenger door of his cruiser and gave Brannan commands for approximately 40 seconds before Brannan stepped away from his pickup truck, pointing his M1 carbine at Dinkheller. Dinkheller fired a shot at Brannan but missed. After the first shot, Brannan returned fire and a barrage of gunfire was heard. Dinkheller did not strike the suspect initially and thus was forced to reload.

At this point, Brannan ran from his pickup truck toward the deputy and began to fire, hitting Dinkheller in exposed areas such as the arms and legs. Brannan then began to reload his weapon as the now injured Dinkheller tried to position himself near the driver side door of his cruiser. Another shot from Dinkheller was heard. Brannan began advance firing at the deputy, hitting him numerous times. Before being disabled from gunfire, Dinkheller was able to inflict a gunshot wound to the stomach of Brannan. Dinkheller had been shot nine times and had likely lost consciousness when Brannan took careful aim, said, "Die fucker," and fired a final fatal shot into Dinkheller's right eye.

Brannan then retreated into his pickup truck and fled the scene.

Aftermath
Brannan was arrested the next morning without incident; he told the investigating authorities that "they can hang me". Brannan was found guilty on January 28, 2000, for the murder of Dinkheller and was sentenced to death. On January 2, 2015, The Georgia Department of Corrections announced that an execution date of January 13 had been set for Brannan. On January 6, 2015, a clemency hearing was set for January 12, 2015. At the hearing, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles voted to deny clemency. On January 13, 2015, Brannan was executed by lethal injection, the first person in the U.S. to be executed in 2015. The entire incident was videotaped on Dinkheller's cruiser dashboard camera. The video is reportedly used throughout the United States in police training academies.

The victim
Kyle Wayne Dinkheller was a deputy with the Laurens County Sheriff's Office in the U.S. state of Georgia. After his death, he was named the 1998 Deputy Sheriff of the Year by the Georgia Sheriffs' Association.

Dinkheller was born on June 18, 1975 in San Diego, California. He graduated from California's Quartz Hill High School in 1993. He joined the Lauren's County Sheriff's Office as a jailer in March 1995 and became a certified peace officer with the State of Georgia in 1996. He was just 22 years old when he was murdered.

Dinkheller is survived by his wife, Angela, and their children Ashley and Cody. Cody Dinkheller was born eight months after his father's death. Kyle Dinkheller is buried in Space 3, Lot 18 in the Garden of Remembrance at Fountainhead Memorial Park in Brevard County, Florida.

Early life and education
Andrew Howard Brannan was born in November 1948 and graduated from college in 1968.

Career
In August 1968, Brannan joined the United States Army and received his induction training at Fort Benning in Georgia. In February 1969, he entered the artillery officer candidate school at Oklahoma's Fort Sill and was commissioned as an artillery officer in July 1969. While he was still in the United States, Brannan served with the 82nd Airborne Division. In July 1969, he was ordered to South Vietnam to serve in the Vietnam War, where he served in the Field Artillery Branch as a forward observer and executive officer with the 23rd Infantry Division at Chu Lai until July 1971. During this time, he witnessed an officer being killed after stepping on a landmine, an incident he later recalled at a psychiatric interview in 1989. He also assumed command of a company on two occasions, after its commander was killed. Afterwards, Brannan arrived at Washington's Fort Lewis, where he transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve, in which he served periodically for two weeks at a time until being discharged in June 1975.

During his time in the U.S. Army, Brannan was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and two instances of the Army Commendation Medal. While in the military, Brannan's superiors spoke favorably of him, saying that he was an "outstanding" and "exemplary" officer.

Later life and death
Brannan suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the result of serving in battle. In 1975, Brannan was married, although the couple divorced six years later as a result of his PTSD. A psychologist for the defense during Brannan's murder trial indicated that the bizarre encounter with Dinkheller in January 1998 "was likely the result of a flashback to Brannan's time in combat." In 1994, the Department of Veterans Affairs had declared Brannan 100% disabled for experiencing depression and bipolar disorder.

In January 1998, Brannan was driving a pickup truck over the speed limit in Laurens County, Georgia and was stopped by Kyle W. Dinkheller, a deputy with the Laurens County Sheriff's Office. After stopping, Brannan stepped out of his vehicle, and after arguing with Dinkheller, he went back to his pickup truck and retrieved an M1 carbine. He then shot Dinkheller several times with the carbine, killing him. Brannan then fled the scene and was arrested for murder the next day; he was eventually found guilty of murder by the State of Georgia and subsequently sentenced to death.

Although Brannan's lawyers tried to get his death sentence commuted on the grounds that he was not criminally responsible for his conviction by reason of insanity, both the Georgia Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene on his behalf on the day his execution was scheduled to take place. Brannan was executed by lethal injection at 8:33 p.m. (EST) on January 13, 2015. He was 66 years old at the time of his death at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison near Jackson, Georgia. He made a final statement, in which he said "I extend my condolences to the Dinkheller family, especially Kyle's parents and his wife and his two children" and "I feel like my status was slow torture for the last 15 years. I had to say that with them here. I have to tell the truth. I'm certainly glad to be leaving." A pastor then delivered a prayer and Brannan was executed.

In popular culture

 * The incident is the focus of the 2014 short film, Random Stop.