# Otero Deputy Indicted In Suspect's Death



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Rene Romo Journal Southern Bureau 


* Case questions necessity of man's fatal shooting moments after he killed officer's partner

LAS CRUCES -- An Otero County grand jury late Tuesday indicted a sheriff's deputy on a voluntary manslaughter charge in the December shooting of a suspect who moments earlier fatally shot the officer's partner.

The indictment is a wrenching twist in a case that has rocked the Otero County Sheriff's Department. 

On Dec. 18, suspect Earl Flippen shot and killed Deputy Robert Hedman as Hedman and his partner, Sgt. Billy Anders, responded to a reported shooting at a house 10 miles outside Cloudcroft.

Flippen, who is believed to have killed his pregnant girlfriend inside their rented home, fatally shot Hedman as the deputy approached the back door of the house.

Police have said that Flippen then walked around the side of the house toward the front, exchanged fire with Anders and was fatally shot.

The indictment returned Tuesday charges Anders with killing Flippen "in the heat of passion" and alleges Anders "knew that his acts created a strong possibility of death or great bodily harm."

One piece of evidence presented to the grand jury was a videotape of Anders' shooting recorded by a sheriff's cruiser parked in front of Flippen's residence, said Anders' attorney, Robert Doughty II of Alamogordo.

The case appears to hinge on whether the shot that killed Flippen was necessary. Flippen, 38, received four gunshot wounds, according to the Office of the Medical Investigator -- to his left hand, his left upper arm, his head and his chest.

Doughty, in a telephone interview, said Anders shot Flippen in self-defense or in the defense of others.

After the shooting, investigators found the body of Flippen's girlfriend, 30-year-old Deborah Rhoudes, killed by a single gunshot and put in a closet. Authorities also discovered Rhoudes' 3-year-old daughter, who was not seriously injured. Otero County Sheriff John Blansett has said she could have been Flippen's second victim had deputies not arrived at the house when they did.

Anders, a 33-year veteran of law enforcement, was deeply hurt by the indictment, but received a show of support from several local police officers who hugged him in the courthouse before he testified in front of the grand jury, Doughty said.

"He (Anders) has always exhibited a real appreciation of our criminal justice system, and it hurts to get indicted when you think you are just doing your job and just lost your best friend," Doughty said. "He's handling it very professionally."

The voluntary manslaughter charge is a third-degree felony that carries a maximum possible sentence of four years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

District Attorney Scot Key of the 12th Judicial District on Tuesday declined to discuss details of the case, saying he preferred to let the indictment speak for itself.

"It's been a supremely draining day for many reasons," Key said.

Anders, who has been on administrative leave since Dec. 18 when an investigation into the police shooting was launched, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Blansett could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

"I hope some day you get to see the video that they are basing this indictment on and how quick events occurred and the situation this guy (Anders) was put in," Doughty said. "This is the first round."


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## PBC FL Cop (Oct 22, 2003)

Videos in cruisers :NO:


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