Just heard this on the news.  I remember ARFCOM discussing this about a year ago and thought you might like to know what happened.  No news on the web yet on actual sentencing.


LOCAL NEWS

Ex-deputy Anders sentencing March 2
BY MICHAEL SHINABERY STAFF WRITER
Feb 24, 2006, 06:00 pm


Sentencing for an Otero County sheriff's officer involved in a 2004 shooting will take place on March 2 and 3 in Judge James Waylon Counts' 12th Judicial District courtroom.

Former Sgt. Billy Anders, now retired, pleaded "no contest" on Aug. 1, 2005, to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm enhancement in the death of Earl Flippen, 38. If Anders had not pleaded, District Attorney Scot Key said Anders would have faced federal civil rights violations.

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Anders was on duty on Dec. 18, 2004, when he and Deputy Bob Hedman responded to a domestic dispute in the James Canyon area east of Cloudcroft.

Key said the two officers interrupted Flippen loading the body of his deceased pregnant girlfriend, Deborah Rhodes, into the trunk of his car.

Sheriff John Blansett thinks Flippen was also about to kill Rhodes' 3-year-old daughter, whom Blansett said had been injured by bullet fragments when Rhodes was shot.

Shooting between Flippen, a convicted felon, and the officers erupted soon after Hedman and Anders arrived. Flippen killed Hedman, then Anders and Flippen exchanged shots after the two confronted one another at the side of the house.

A videotape of the gunfight, taken from one of the sheriff's department's cruisers, shows Anders fired his last shot at Flippen after he was handcuffed on the ground.

An Otero County grand jury indicted Anders, citing he shot Flippen "in the heat of passion."

Anders' friends and supporters in the Sacramento Mountains have raised thousands of dollars for his defense fund.

Anders is represented by Robert Doughty and Gary Mitchell.Link to Article

haha, so he shot a guy that was handcuffed and laying on the Ground? hahaha

Flame suit on, but I think that he saved tax payers the cost of trial and incarceration for many years. The guy was cought red handed after killing that woman. In hindsight though they probably should have killed him instead of cuffing him.

He should have shot him before he cuffed him. That is all.

Quoted: Flame suit on, but I think that he saved tax payers the cost of trial and incarceration for many years. The guy was cought red handed after killing that woman. In hindsight though they probably should have killed him instead of cuffing him.

If you take the sentence into account, I'm pretty sure the judge and jury agree with you.  If I remember correctly the judge was quoted as saying he had to give the deputy 1 year because of legislation.

Not only caught red handed loading his 1st victim up but then shoots the man's partner. The Dep should have been let go per temporary insanity. IMO

No great loss here. What he did was just stupid though. If you wanted him dead, shoot better and more during the gunfight.

Just a case of getting the cart ahead of the horse. Shoot first, then handcuff. Those procedural errors are a bitch.

So what in the HELL is wrong with those grand jurors?

Quoted: So what in the HELL is wrong with those grand jurors?

Calm down son,  this isn't NAM there are rules here.

From a purely legalistic view, he should be in prison for life. However, seeing as I would probably have done the same thing, I can't really blame him

Quoted: He should have shot him before he cuffed him. That is all.

+1. I'd shake that guy's hand.

Quoted: Quoted: He should have shot him before he cuffed him. That is all. +1. I'd shake that guy's hand.

Time for a department-wide refresher course on the video machines.

Good shoot, IMHO!!!  No prison.  Here's a medal and a pat on the ass, now back to work.

Quoted: If Anders had not pleaded, District Attorney Scot Key said Anders would have faced federal civil rights violations.

Maybe this was a "friendly" prosecution.  IOW, he takes a year state in a system where nobody's terribly upset about what he did, rather than risk 10 yrs in FPMITA Prison; maybe the local prosecutor is "rescuing" him by prosecuting him. (The feds have pretty strict abstention rules. It's hard as hell to get a federal prosecution if the guy's been prosecuted in state court for the same acts.)

Sounds like an unfortunate, but fair shooting to me. How can one expect more from an officer that went through hell, both in a gun battle and seeing the horror of what that creep did? I would buy the defense of temporary insanity easily in that circumstance.

But heck, next time shoot straight during the gun battle. All this story says is that kill the creep before placing him in handcuffs.

Yes, he did save not only tax payers money, but also the human gene pool from further contamination.

Well, normally I would be pretty upset over a police officer killing a bound, unarmed man. Normally, I would be screaming bloody murder over this and calling for the cop to be strung up.

Can't bring myself to say any of those things right now, though. Not saying it was right, but....