offi cer down Slowly Developing Threats:
Figure 1: Deputy Dinkheller opens fi re; Brannan fi res back and continues fi ring as he advances; Dinkheller returns fi re.
4. 1.
2. Brannan fi res at Dinkheller. 1. Dinkheller opens fi re.
3. Brannan advances. 4. Brannan continues fi ring at Dinkheller. 3. 2. Key: = Offi cer
Deputy Dinkheller
= Offender
Offender Brannan
ing toward the passenger door. “Put the gun down,” Dinkheller shouted, his voice now charged with anxiety as he backed up to the left-rear corner of his pa- trol car and took cover.
Just as he had been doing all along, Bran- nan went on in open defi ance of Dinkhel- ler’s verbal commands. He leaned back into the cab as Dinkheller called for assistance again, this time adding that the man had a gun. Brannan glanced back at Dinkheller and then turned his attention back to the rifl e. He was manipulating the weapon in a way that wasn’t completely clear, but it appeared he was loading it. Dinkheller repeated the com- mand to put the gun down. Brannan’s only response was to look back at him again and scream out another defi ant, “No!” “Put the gun down now,” Dinkheller demanded, only to have the command met with another string of profanity. “Put the gun down!”
Brannan turned back to the cab and picked up the rifl e, a 30 caliber M 1 carbine, as Dinkheller again ordered him to drop it. Without hesitation, Brannan turned toward the deputy and squatted next to the cab, rifl e in hand. He bobbed around next to the
36 The Police Marksman May-Jun 2014
truck, using quick peeks to try to locate Din- kheller, who was now moving to the right rear fender of the patrol car for better cover. Dinkheller had his Glock trained on the truck, waiting for a good shot. It soon came. Brannan rose above the bed of the truck, the M 1 at his shoulder. Dinkheller fi red but missed as Brannan quickly ducked back down. Brannan soon appeared again, this time fi ring at Din- kheller as he popped up. Dinkheller responded with several shots of his own, but Brannan had already ducked out of view. Brannan rose, fi red, and ducked down again as Dinkheller returned fi re, still without eff ect.
Brannan bobbed up twice more, each time to a barrage of shots from Dinkheller’s Glock. But the slide on the deputy’s pistol soon locked back. As Dinkheller rushed to reload, Brannan’s head bobbed up yet again, barely rising above the side of the bed before dropping back down. When no shots came, he raised his head higher, and then moved toward the rear of the truck. He rounded the corner of the bed, holding the rifl e at his hip as he moved, and rapidly crossed over to the right front fender of the patrol car. He paused for just an instant, raised the gun to his shoulder, and opened fi re (Figure 1).
Dinkheller was now taking hits to his arms and legs as he hurriedly fi nished reloading and started to return fi re. Brannan’s rifl e blazed as he kept moving toward Dinkheller, pump- ing rounds into the valiant deputy as he fi red. Fighting back doggedly, but seriously wounded and pounded unmercifully by the hailstorm of lead, Dinkheller missed with each desperate shot. Dinkheller was in great pain and bleeding profusely when Brannan fi nally stopped fi ring and backed off , his rifl e now empty. Dinkhel- ler’s gun had also been shot dry again, and he painfully reloaded as Brannan retreated to a po- sition along the edge of the road near the back of the pickup truck.
Dinkheller had backed away from Bran- nan to a position near the left-rear corner of the patrol car. He rose up and fi red another shot at Brannan, who had also just fi nished reloading. Brannan ducked from a near miss, and then put the gun to his shoulder and advanced at a fast pace to the driver’s side of the patrol car, fi ring rapidly as he moved. Dinkheller was taking still more hits, but bravely continued to shoot back (Figure 2). Brannan backed off to the front of the pa- trol car, and Dinkheller fi red another round. T is shot hit dead center, striking Brannan just below the sternum. T e man fl inched and grimaced slightly, but otherwise showed no eff ects from the wound. Regrettably, the bullet had hit at an angle, traversed his right torso at a shallow depth, and exited without striking any internal organs. Brannan raised the rifl e to his shoulder again, and moved back to the left side of the car, fi ring several shots as he advanced. So
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The Kyle Dinkheller Incident
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