Attorneys announce settlement for woman shot, killed by Bradley County deputy in 2011

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

Bradley County will pay nearly $1 million to the family of a 30-year-old woman who became the center of a contentious civil rights lawsuit in 2012 after she was shot to death by a deputy in front of her children.

Dustin Patrick, then a deputy for the Bradley County Sheriff's Office, has admitted no wrongdoing or liability for any injuries in the 2011 welfare check on Interstate 75, which ended with Armetta Foster dying from several gunshot wounds.

But his attorneys have agreed to pay $900,000 to Foster's family. And that money will come from Bradley County, since it insured Patrick at the time of the shootings. Patrick has since been terminated for unrelated reasons.

Thomas LeQuire, an attorney for Bradley County, declined to comment after the announcement Wednesday in Chattanooga's federal district court.

Throughout the nearly six-year case, different versions have emerged about what happened. But both parties agree: Foster was walking in the median of I-75 with her children, then 6 and 10, when Patrick stopped and questioned her. During several back-and-forth exchanges, Foster said her car had broken down and that someone was coming to get her. Patrick, meanwhile, insisted that she needed to get off the highway.

After opening his side door to persuade her into the patrol car, Patrick said he turned around and saw Foster coming at him with a knife, at one point making an overhead stabbing motion.

After Patrick ran to the front of his car and drew his weapon, Foster gave up on her charge and instead hopped into the driver's side of the cruiser, documents show. Patrick said he fired four or five rounds when she started to pull the shifter down, and another four or five rounds after Foster finished putting the patrol car in drive and "gassed it."

Her children said Armetta Foster had a knife but never used it. Her daughter, now 16, said Foster jumped on Patrick's back, putting her hands around his neck. Then, after Patrick shook her off, he "started shooting."

Of 13 or 14 shots total, eight connected with Foster. At the time, family members said Foster was in a panicked state that day because she thought the rapture was coming. A medical report also found several painkillers in her system.

Court documents show that in 2014, U.S. District Judge Harry "Sandy" Mattice denied Patrick's request to dismiss the case on grounds of qualified immunity, which shields public officials from liability for civil damages.

Afterwards, Patrick asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take a look. But that court also sided with Mattice, viewing the facts "in the light most favorable" to Leonard Foster since Patrick started the appeals process.

"Patrick argues that Foster had access to two deadly weapons inside the police cruiser: a loaded shotgun above the driver's seat and a loaded rifle in the trunk," the circuit court wrote. "But nothing from the facts suggests that Foster knew about the weapons or attempted to gain access to either of them."

Her father, Leonard Foster, 58, filed the civil rights lawsuit in 2012 in Bradley County Circuit Court, before a national dialogue had fully developed about police violence against black men and women.

The $900,000 settlement will be held in a trust for Armetta Foster's two children, records show. And as sole trustee, Leonard Foster could decide how to spend the $900,000 as opposed to a corporate trustee or an annuity plan that would automatically dole out money at a specific time, attorneys said.

"What if the 16-year-old [child] gets a car?" Whitney Durand, one of Leonard Foster's attorneys, asked in court. "An annuity doesn't cover that. Up until 25, it's his judgment as to how to divide the money. He might say you don't need a car - you need to go to college. And it ain't cheap these days. That's why we went with a trust agreement."

Mattice said $900,000 seemed appropriate for a settlement. But he wants Durand to review the trust with the father of Armetta Foster's children, whose family lives in Louisville, and to see if a court in Kentucky can create a system of periodic reports on how the money is being invested.

Mattice also wants Durand to nail down the issue of attorneys' fees, which will be subtracted directly from the trust, leaving an estimated $500,000 for the children. Durand and John Wolfe, a second attorney for Leonard Foster, will return to court next month to follow up.

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.

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