Tennessee sheriff caught on tape saying ‘I love this s—‘ after telling deputies to shoot unarmed man

A Tennessee sheriff is facing a lawsuit after he was taped telling deputies to shoot a man during a car chase instead of risking damage to patrol cars by ramming the suspect.

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

Dial’s widow is suing Shoupe in federal court, alleging excessive use of force in the killing of her husband, the Guardian reported.

{mosads}

After Dial was shot, Shoupe arrived on the scene, where his comments were picked up by a body camera worn by one of the deputies.

“I love this shit,” Shoupe said, according to The Guardian. “God, I tell you what, I thrive on it.”

The chase with Dial began after police attempted to pull the man over for driving with a suspended license. But he drove away, prompting the car chase.

The county declared last year that the shooting was justified and that law enforcement officials had acted reasonably.

But the lawsuit says that the recording of Shoupe’s comments proves a “malicious and sadistic mindset,” according to the Guardian. The lawsuit also names the county, the city of Sparta, Tenn., and the two deputies who fired at Dial.