The Life and Death of Georgia Sheriff Deputy Kyle Dinkheller

In my research for the series Defining Black Lives Matter, I found some articles about Blue Lives Matter.  I was going to include the following in a part of the series, but decided that this needs its own post.  It is about Georgia Sheriff Deputy Kyle Dinkheller.  First, please watch the video.  When I first watched it, I fell to my knees sobbing.  It’s one of those painful things that we need to watch to see what humans do to other humans, and should remind us of the precious gift of life.

 

Convicted cop-killer Andrew Brannan

Andrew Brannan was convicted of the 1998 murder of Laurens County, Georgia sheriff deputy Kyle Dinkheller.  Deputy Dinkheller was 22-years old when he was murdered.  Dinkheller pulled Brannan over for driving 98 mph. Brannan used a M-1 carbine rifle.  At the time, Brannan was 49 years old when he deliberately shot Officer Dinkheller 9 times, the last shot being in the eye.

Brannan was found the next day. He had been wounded in the stomach. He was taken alive.

Officer Dinkheller left behind an expectant wife and 22-month-old daughter when he died on January 12, 1998. Deputy Dinkheller’s son was born in September 1998. 

Although Officer Dinkheller was murdered in 1998, his killer was not executed until July 2015.  According to Wikipedia, Blue Lives Matter started on December 20, 2014.  According to the Blue Lives Matter website however, it started to defend the actions of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson who killed 18-year old Michael Brown on August 9, 2014.  Considering both dates, and in my opinion, keeping with their mission statement, Blue Lives Matter should have written something about the July 2015 execution of convicted cop killer Andrew Brannan.

 

Kyle Dinkheller

The only mention of the execution that I found by a pro-cop organization on social media was on a Facebook Community page titled “Police Line – Do Not Cross”.  It describes itself as “We’re a page for cops by cops. We are crude, crass, and politically incorrect. We will state our opinions and feelings. If you are easily offended go away!”

I did not find any of its postings crude, nor crass.  Sadly, it only has 26 likes.

Randy Robertson of the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police has a Facebook page where he posted that the Georgia FOP was providing airfare and housing to Officer Dinkheller’s family who were flying in from Utah and Nevada in order to speak before the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole on Brannan’s appeal.  Randy Robertson hashtagged his comment, ‪#‎IAMFOP.  On January 13, 2015, Andrew Brannan lost his appeal for clemency after he claimed he was suffering from PTSD.

For me, Deputy Dinkheller is every victim of gun violence, particularly those who saw it coming and had no power or option to prevent their death.  When I hear his screams, his begging, and even his death gurgle, I hear the screams and feel the fear of ;

36 wounded or killed victims of the Columbine High School massacre.  The killers committed suicide;

70 wounded or killed victims of the Aurora, Colorado theater massacre.  The killer was taken alive, faced trial, and sentenced to prison;

26 killed victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School.  The killer committed suicide;

Amadou Diallo, shot 19 times by four New York City plain-clothed officers. All 4 officers were acquitted;

Laquan McDonald, shot 16 times by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.  Van Dyke is awaiting trial for 1st degree murder;

Walter Scott, who was shot 5 times with 3 shots in the back by North Charleston Police officer Michael Slager.  Slager is awaiting trial on 1st degree murder and federal charges;

Misty Holt-Singh, who was held hostage by bank robbers, and shot 10 times by Stockton police.  No disciplinary action has been taken against the officers;

Michael Brown, who was wounded and ran before being shot 8 times by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson, who described Michael’s facial expression of pain as anger looking like a “demon”.  A grand jury failed to indict Darren Wilson, who testified before the grand jury on his own behalf;

102 wounded or killed victims of Pulse Nightclub, with one victim being shot 10 times.  The killer was killed by law enforcement;

14 wounded or killed Dallas police officers.  The killer was killed by a robot carrying a bomb, sent in by law enforcement;

30 killed victims of the Virginia Tech massacre.  The killer committed suicide;

India Kager was shot 7-8 times by Virginia Beach SWAT who were aiming at another person.  The officers were not disciplined;

9 victims of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.  The killer, Dylan Roof, awaits trial on state and federal charges;

The list goes on and on.  The three things that all victims have in common is that they are human, they were killed by bullets, and they all have grieving families.

The problem is guns.

Fear does not discriminate.  Pain does not discriminate. Grief does not discriminate.  Death does not discriminate. May the time come when we can say the same about justice.

This crime scene outline of Deputy Kyle Dinkheller’s body can be the scene of any or every person killed by gunfire.