Lawsuit against ex-Bradley deputy who shot, killed woman going to trial

Investigators search for clues in the median of I-75 after Armetta Foster was shot and killed by a deputy in 2011. 
Staff photo by Randall Higgins
Investigators search for clues in the median of I-75 after Armetta Foster was shot and killed by a deputy in 2011. Staff photo by Randall Higgins

A federal appeals court on Friday sided with a Chattanooga U.S. District Court judge who said a civil rights case involving a former Bradley County deputy should go forward.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Harry S. Mattice's ruling that former deputy Dustin Patrick wasn't entitled to summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity.

Friday's ruling means the case will go to trial, but no trial date has been set.

Patrick shot Armetta Foster on May 21, 2011, after he came upon her and her two children walking in the median of Interstate 75. Patrick said when he questioned her, she slashed at him with a knife and drove off in his patrol car. He fired his weapon and hit her eight times, but she drove 2 1/2 miles north on I-75 before crashing through a barbed wire fence. She died from the gunshot wounds at Erlanger hospital.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation handled the investigation and worked with the district attorney's office, which elected not to press criminal charges against Patrick.

However, Foster's father, Leonard Foster, filed a federal civil lawsuit claiming that Patrick used excessive force, violating his daughter's Fourth and Fourteenth amendment rights.

Patrick asked for dismissal on grounds of qualified immunity, which shields public officials from liability for civil damages. But Mattice ruled that issues of fact existed in the case and that a reasonable juror could conclude Foster's civil rights were violated.

photo Investigators search for clues in the median of I-75 after Armetta Foster was shot and killed by a deputy in 2011. Staff photo by Randall Higgins

"I'm happy they decided the way they did and got the case back in Chattanooga," said local attorney John Wolfe, who is representing Leonard Foster.

Patrick's attorney, Scott Bennett, declined to comment since the case will be going to trial.

A point of contention in the case is Foster's alleged used of a knife during the incident.

Early on a Saturday afternoon Patrick was dispatched to I-75 just north of exit 20, where Foster and her two children, 10 and 6 at the time, were walking. He began to question Foster, telling her she could not keep walking on the interstate. Foster was on her way from Florida to Kentucky and was driving a stolen car that had broken down near the exit.

According to Patrick, he opened the driver's side door of his cruiser so that he could unlock the back door and persuade Foster to accept a ride from him.

He said the woman then "bladed" toward him, standing side-on in a way he took as threatening. As Patrick reached for his gun, she swung at him with a knife. Patrick ran toward the front of the car and drew his gun.

Foster got in the car and yelled at her children to get in, too. Patrick ordered them not to. Foster ignored Patrick's orders to get out of the car, and put the vehicle in gear. Patrick told investigators he was afraid she would try to run him down, and the officer fired his gun four or five times. He fired more shots as she drove away without her children.

Foster's 6-year-old son told investigators his mother carried a knife in her back pocket but he never saw her pull it out during the encounter. He told them his mother jumped on Patrick's back.

The 10-year-old daughter said she never saw her mom with a knife but did see her jump on the officer's back.

A knife was found under a stuffed animal on the driver's side floorboard of the cruiser when Foster crashed, according to the TBI.

Toxicology results revealed Foster had methamphetamine and three types of painkillers in her system at the time.

Patrick was fired that fall for unrelated reasons.

Foster's relatives told a Louisville TV station at the time that they believed Foster thought the Rapture was coming and had a breakdown.

Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

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