Here at the Goldwater, we have been closely covering the tragic shooting of an unarmed man in Sparta, Tennessee who was ordered to be taken down "by any means necessary" with "deadly force authorized." Bodycam footage acquired by Nashville's NewsChannel 5 revealed that the reason White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe ordered the man shot was <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/17749-Take-Him-Out-Sparta-TN-Sheriff-Faces-Federal-Lawsuit-After-Bodycam-Footage-Released">in order to prevent his patrol cars from being damaged</a> in attempt to ram him off the road.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheJusticeDept</a> needs to charge this guy. Same guy who says he can do searches anytime he wants. White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe said he does not need a search warrant to enter people's homes if officers believe a fugitive is inside. Key word believes. <a href="https://t.co/bPDEJfwCdY">https://t.co/bPDEJfwCdY</a></p>— Rogue Lady Liberty (@RogueLady2) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogueLady2/status/961209308624154624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/sheriff-wrongly-tells-mom-her-son-was-killed-by-officers">Recent developments in the case</a> shine more of a light on the events and further showcase Shoupe's callous disregard for human life and willingness to lie to protect the narrative he attempts to further. Michael Dial was shot last April after a slow speed two-county chase that culminated in him running off the road where he was shot in the head and killed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What this bodycam footage shows has now become the center of a federal lawsuit. <a href="https://t.co/rBaJ52A2Sn">https://t.co/rBaJ52A2Sn</a></p>— Intl. Business Times (@IBTimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/IBTimes/status/961374115595681792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At the time, once again according to footage acquired by NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, the officers weren't even sure of who it was they had shot.
Officer: "Anybody know who he is?"
Another Officer: "No."
Another Officer: "Jason Kirby"
Officer: "Ok."
Once Michael Dial was misidentified as Jason Kirby. It was through social media that Kirby's mother, Pat Randolph, learned of her son's apparent death.
"It was terrible. It was a nightmare you know my son was dead. I just couldn't handle it," Randolph said.
On the way to the hospital, she passed by the scene of the fatal shooting. Here, Sheriff Shoupe told her in person her son was dead.
"He said it just like, 'well your son's dead.' That's it you know. 'He shot at us and we had to take him out.' No concern, nothing," Randolph said.
Not only was the dead man not Kirby, but the man who was actually fatally shot was completely unarmed and outside of the vehicle when officers who had been ordered to "take him out […] by any means necessary" and authorized to use deadly force did just that.
Even at the hospital Randolph was mistakenly told her son was killed. Kirby was alive and well and working, but away from his phone at the time and had no way of knowing his entire family was currently mourning his wrongful death.
"I went in and hugged her and she just cried for like hours you know," Kirby said.
"It makes me mad yeah. It makes me really mad," Kirby said.
Oddly, the radio recordings show that Dekalb County dispatchers knew exactly who the driver was.
The man who was actually killed was Michael Dial.
"Notify White County it's going to be a late model Chevy truck…. subject should come back to a Michael Dial," the DeKalb County dispatcher said.
This is possibly the reason for the claim that Michael Dial was driving in tags that didn't match his vehicle originate from.
Kirby admitted that he's had issues with Sheriff Shoupe's troupe.
"Me and him's had a few altercations in the past you know. It took me a while to straighten up and get right," Kirby said.
So at the time, Shoupe was most likely gloating over killing an "old nemesis" when he made his, now infamous, statements after the events unfolded.
<h3>Warning! The video below contains graphic language.</h3>
<iframe width="722" height="406" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WoQPyHqAP-U" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Sheriff: "I told em, I said take him out."
Deputy: "I heard"
Sheriff: "Damn I don't give a sh*t."
Deputy: "It wasn't long after that I heard 'shots fired.'"
Sheriff: "They said 'we're ramming.' I said 'don't ram him shot him. F**k that sh*t."
Kirby was shocked, if not surprised, to hear of the Sheriff's comments regarding his supposed death.
Sheriff: "I love this sh*t. God I tell you what I thrive on it."
"He's proud of killing that guy - thinking it was me," Jason Kirby told NewsChannel 5.
Though radio dispatch in Dekalb radioed that they should pass on the suspect's name to White County it's still unclear whether that information was shared between departments.
Michael Dial's wife, Robyn, is suing the county and sheriff's office for wrongful death and as a result, the sheriff's office has made it clear they can not comment due to the impending federal lawsuit.
Our own writer, <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/17835-Why-Tennessee-Sheriff-Shooting-of-Michael-Dial-May-Not-Have-Been-Justified">Kyle James, researched a new angle on the case</a> and discovered that most likely the shooting could not have been legally authorized by the Sheriff from remote in the first place.
<blockquote>In Tennessee V. Garner, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an officer cannot use deadly force against a fleeing suspect unless the suspect is a significant threat to the officer or to others. Force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.
My point in bringing this case up is that the sheriff who authorized the shooting was not on scene when he ordered deputies to kill Michael Dial. Since Sheriff Oddie Shoupe was not on the scene he could not reasonably say his life was in danger, nor could he know whether his deputies lives were in danger.</blockquote>
Shoupe should be arrested and charged with murder among other things. Sadly that probably will not happen and this sort of behavior will continue by other bad officers. Kudos to the Sgt for writing an honest report.