Posted on 03/03/2006 5:35:50 PM PST by CedarDave
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — A former Otero County sheriff's deputy who fatally shot a man who had killed his partner will spend a year in prison and two years on probation after sentencing Friday.
Bill Anders reached a deal with prosecutors last August in which he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Earl Flippen. Anders had faced between one and seven years in prison.
Anders' attorney had asked for a lesser sentence, but Judge James Waylon Counts said state law required that Anders spend at least one year in prison for the crime.
Defense witnesses testified during Anders' sentencing hearing that the deputy snapped after his partner was shot in the head. Prosecutors argued that the ''rule of law'' needed to be upheld.
Anders and Deputy Robert Hedman had responded to reports of gunshots at Flippen's home on Dec. 18, 2004. They noticed blood on the floor, but Flippen refused to let them in. Anders went to call for help and Hedman went to the rear of the house.
According to state police, Flippen shot Hedman in the head behind the house, then Anders encountered Flippen near the front of the house and the two exchanged shots.
Court documents say Flippen was wounded and incapacitated. Anders took his gun and handcuffed him before going to check on Hedman. A videotape taken from his sheriff's department truck showed that Anders returned, rolled the handcuffed man onto his back and shot him.
Investigators said Anders didn't recall the events as shown on the videotape. Eric Westfried, an Albuquerque clinical psychologist who testified for the defense Thursday, said the fuzziness of Anders' memory was triggered by acute stress disorder...
Inside the home, police found the body of Flippen's pregnant girlfriend in a closet. Authorities believe she was killed before deputies arrived.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
Coincidently, the attorney who defended him, Gary Mitchell, was the same attorney who defended Cody Posy who was convicted of triple killings of his father, stepmother and stepsister on ABC newsman Sam Donaldson's ranch. The judge in that case was the same and that sentence was to be held in custody and receive mental health care until age 21.
What a pity the video tape didn't get erased in an unfortunate accident.
Gary Mitchell often takes high-profile cases that involve the death penalty, as well. He is a very capable lawyer.
One of those cases where he did break the law, but nobody really wants to send him to jail based on the circumstances. Probably a good cop and a good man who lost his bearings after seeing his friend and partner murdered.
if this guy wasn't a cop, he'd probably have been sent up for 20 years.
Rule of law just doesn't apply to cops.
If he wouldn't have been a cop, there wouldn't have been a video.
If he weren't a cop he would not have been in that situation.
he did the world a favor and saved the taxpayers money. He is a hero in my book. too bad he didn't walk.he will have a rough time in prison considering he is ex law enforcement. if more people started doing this we would have far less scumbags walking the street.
Crime of passion. Frankly, if you shot my partner (friend or family member) and I was there, you would be a bullet riddled corpse. Luckily, I'm not an officer of the law.......
"he did the world a favor and saved the taxpayers money. He is a hero in my book."
I share your sentiments
"too bad he didn't walk."
I can't agree with you there. We cannot sanction this type of behavior, even if we have sympathy for it. If we didn't sentence cops for actions like this, this type of action would become more frequent. We live by rule of law. It is imperfect, but compared to other real-world systems, it's a good system.
"he will have a rough time in prison considering he is ex law enforcement."
My understanding of prison is that he could choose to be kept in protective custody the whole time (isolation). That eliminates the chance of getting any time off for good behavior to reduce his sentence, but it would keep him safe for the duration of the sentence.
So, I have to wonder what happened prior to the cops showing up.
Sorry, but I don't think Bill Anders did anything wrong.
So, I have to wonder what happened prior to the cops showing up.
The very last line of the article above:
Inside the home, police found the body of Flippen's pregnant girlfriend in a closet. Authorities believe she was killed before deputies arrived.
So, I have to guess that's where the blood came from.
Missed that. Thanks.
If some POS shot my partner I'd gladly do the year if convicted. He would suffer the same consequences as this guy.
I would really hate to be put in this position. There are five officers on my shift and anyone of them would do the same for me. It would be a crime of passion and I'd definitely be passionate about it. #430
I say Hooahh!
Dirty Harry lives.
Earlier this evening, I watched a "City Confidential" segment on A&E. The title: Vigilante Justice. One segment portrayed a Baton Rouge man whose son was kidnapped and taken to LA by his karate instructor. The two were found, the son returned, hair dyed black, with a tale that the instructor had molested him, repeatedly, over the course of a year. The boy's father eventually found himself at the airport waiting the arrival of the karate instructor. The boy's father was caught on film shooting the guy in the head as he was being led past a row of phones. All on film. The jury acquited him.
Handcuffing the guy, walking to the back of the house, finding your partner shot dead, going back to the handcuffed perp, flipping him face up so he can see you shoot him, and then shoot him, adds up to all the unspoken rules of professional dedication and breaks all the rules of benign political justice.
Be true to yourself and those true to you.
Good kill.
Sure we can. Most would agree the scumbag got what he deserved. This is what jury nullification is for.
He should have just said I gave him what he had coming and I'm glad I did.
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