On Dec 18th, 2004 Deputy Robert Hedman and his partner Sgt Billy Anders, were both working for the Otero County Sheriff’s Dept in New Mexico when they responded to a call of a shooting. When it was over, a violent armed felon/ex convict, Earl Flippen murdered Deputy Robert Hedman and a woman. Sergeant Anders survived the encounter but is in prison today for killing Flippen.CNN reporter Dan Simon interviewed Billy Anders in prison and reports this heartbreaking story. See the video here: http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=2&guideContext=65.72&pmmsid=1645558
ABC News Reports the story here: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/LegalCenter/story?id=1943342&page=1
New Mexico Bill Richardson can be contacted by e-mail for a request for a commutation and pardon here: http://www.governor.state.nm.us/emailchoice.php?mm=6
Comments
I don't believe anyone could have done a better job in this situation. How many people could respond rationally after being shot at in this extreme situation, and then react rationally after viewing their best friend, mother, father, brother, you name it horrifically killed in this manner.. and then continue rationally? He will have to serve his time, but he doesn't deserve to carry the burden of this felony. He does deserve a pardon.
Unbelievable. Cops are charged with enforcing the law. In this country we're supposed to let the courts sort out guilt and punishment. I don't care how disgusting the dead guy was; cops SHOULD NOT get a free pass when they execute a suspect in cold blood.
Frankly, I'm shocked that the D.A. actually chose to prosecute this guy. There is no doubt in my mind that in the absence of any videotaped evidence "Officer" Anders would have quietly filed a report detailing a much different encounter than actually took place, an internal police investigation would have found nothing amiss about Anders' actions and the D.A. wouldn't have made a sound.
Sorry, popping "extra" into a bound, wounded prisoner is unacceptable, no matter how deserving.
We've got troops in Iraq treating snipers who just shot and killed best friends, or rendering first aid to psychos who initiated IEDs killing numbers of servicemembers at a time...wounded medics treating the same wounded bad guys who just shot them.
I expect the same or higher standard of the privileged few in "Law Enforcement" that we expect of service members under the Law of Land Warfare.
...He deserves his felony and the lifelong stigma. More so than soldiers/marines under more stressful conditions who will be treated more harshly.
I feel for the ex-cop and his loss: The SOB certainly deserved to die, but LEOs ought be held fully accountable for actions..
No Pardon for Murder!
The deputy should have at least taken the cuffs off of him.
Deputy Anders did the right thing no matter how bad it may have been, the BG killed his partner and another civilian, his only mistake was not taking the cuffs off.