Tennessee Sheriff Says ‘I Love This S—’ After Ordering Deputies to Shoot Unarmed Man

A Tennessee sheriff is facing a lawsuit by the widow of an unarmed man after he was recorded ordering his deputies to shoot at the driver during a car chase as an alternative to ramming his vehicle with their patrol cars.

According to CBS News, police body-camera shows Sheriff Oddie Shoupe ordering officers to “take out” a man they were chasing by shooting at him instead of risking damage to their cars.

“They said ‘we’re ramming him,’” Shoupe said on tape after the suspect Michael Dial, was killed. “I said, ‘Don’t ram him, shoot him.’ F— that shit. Ain’t gonna tear up my cars.”

Per orders by the sheriff, reserve deputy Adam West, who was driving his personal vehicle, drew out his weapon. With the deputies spinning the suspect out of control, Deputy West began shooting, to which he shot at Dial, who died from a gunshot wound to the head. Dial was unarmed.

After the suspect was shot, Shoupe arrived on the scene, with his comments picked up by the cameras of the other deputies, saying, “I love this s—. God, I tell you what, I thrive on it.”

The chase began when police attempted to pull Dial over for driving with a suspended license, which prompted the car chase. Dial’s widow is suing the White County Sheriff in federal court, alleging that the department used excessive force under the guidance of Shoupe, which resulted in her husband’s death.

Further reports from The Guardian state that the widow’s lawsuit states Shoupe’s comments on body cam prove a “malicious and sadistic mindset,” adding that “it was not only inappropriate but also unconscionable for Defendant Shoupe to give the order to use deadly force.”

Dial’s widow told Tennessee’s News Channel 5 that she believes her husband tried to drive away because he was scared, and states she could not make sense of the order to shoot.

“I feel with every part of me that’s exactly what they wanted to do was kill him,” she said.