As cars and trucks whizzed by, a bored Claiborne County sheriff's deputy spun the cylinder of his revolver and fired through the windshield into rush-hour traffic on a busy Interstate 75.

He still wears a badge today.

Noah Arnwine, whose stepmother works as the sheriff's secretary, was riding back from an inmate transport in the passenger seat of a county cruiser Nov. 2 near the Philadelphia, Tennessee, exit on I-75 North when he pulled out a .38-caliber Ruger, emptied all but one chamber, pointed the gun at the windshield and pulled the trigger "as if he was playing Russian roulette," according to his partner.

"It was just so crazy, I'm still in awe over it," Deputy Cody Lankford, who was driving at the time, says on a recording obtained by Knox News. "I slowed down and started watching to see if anybody started flipping end-over-end because they got the back of their head blown off. ... I hate that he's probably going to lose his job, but he needs a job where he doesn't get to handle a gun every day."

Deputy still on duty

Arnwine kept his job. Mark Ellis, the former assistant chief deputy who investigated the shooting, says Claiborne County Sheriff Bob Brooks ignored his advice that Arnwine be fired, kept the case quiet and instead forced Ellis out over a struggle with a jail inmate.

That struggle, which ended when Ellis used a stun gun to subdue the inmate as he fought with half a dozen officers, led to Ellis' indictment on charges of assault and official oppression — what his attorney calls a case of selective enforcement and retaliation.

"My client was told to forget this matter, that there would be no disciplinary action, and 'this never happened,'" said Ellis' lawyer, T. Scott Jones. "My client steadfastly adheres to his position that his authority was undermined by the chief law enforcement officer of the county — the sheriff, Bob Brooks. That's why they've manifested this intent to persecute him over this case."

The sheriff — who took office just after the indictment of his predecessor, legendary lawman David Ray — says that's a lie. He said he suspended Arnwine over the shooting but couldn't immediately provide details or records of the suspension Friday.

"That's been a while back," Brooks said. "I don't remember (Arnwine's punishment). But I don't do business that way. Mark Ellis is a full-blown liar who's under indictment himself for not following the rules."

Arnwine continues to draw roughly $26,000 per year as a transport officer for the sheriff. He admitted the shooting in a brief phone conversation with Knox News on Friday, then hung up.

"I'd rather not talk about that, if you don't care," he said.

'Don't do it!'

The shooting happened just before 4 p.m. on Nov. 2 — a Friday afternoon — as Arnwine and Lankford headed back to Claiborne County after delivering an inmate to the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga. Lankford drove, with Arnwine in the passenger seat, when the gun suddenly erupted beside him.

"I don't think he meant to shoot, but it went off," Lankford wrote in his report. "I was on the phone with my brother. ... He heard me say, 'Holy (expletive), don't do it!' Then the shot rang off."

The bullet shattered the cruiser's windshield but apparently missed any of the passing cars and trucks. Lankford said he nearly ran off the road.

"Between the muzzle flash and being temporarily deafened, it took me a second to think of what exactly to do," he told Ellis. "(You) may need to call hospitals around Philadelphia, Tennessee, and make sure no one showed up with an unexplained bullet wound."

Ellis said he personally called hospitals around southeast Tennessee but found no reports of injuries he could tie to the shooting. It's not clear from the records whether the gun was a county-issued or personal weapon.

Ellis recommended firing Arnwine regardless.

Arnwine "put several lives in danger" and "also put the life of his fellow officer at risk," Ellis wrote. "I recommend that Officer Arnwine face immediate termination and (be) charged with reckless endangerment. ... It is also my recommendation that Officer Arnwine should pay for the county property he destroyed while (he) so foolishly and negligently handled a firearm."

The sheriff didn't offer an explanation for why Arnwine kept his job.

"It must be a slow news day if you're asking about this," he said.