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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 PTSD stemming from his military service in Vietnam.

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. Fifteen years later, on January 13, 2015, the state of Georgia executed Brannan by lethal injection.

Dinkheller encountered a speeding Toyota pickup truck near Dudley, Georgia, which he clocked at around 98 miles per hour (158 km/h). 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 "Vietnam combat veteran". Both Dinkheller and Brannan are heard saying, "I'm in fear for my life."

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.

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 video is reportedly used throughout the United States in police training academies.

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. 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.
Deputy Sheriff Dinkheller was 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.