Slain woman had meth in her system

Friday, January 1, 1904

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

Toxicology results released Tuesday show a Florida woman had methamphetamine in her system when she was fatally shot in May by a Bradley County sheriff's deputy.

Lab results show 30-year-old Armetta Foster, of Casselberry, Fla., also had Lidocaine, Atropine and Midazolam -- all painkillers -- in her system when she was shot several times on Interstate 75.

Relatives said they thought Foster had a breakdown and believed the Rapture was coming, according to newspaper archives.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation handled the case because it was an officer-involved shooting.

"TBI conducted the investigation. We followed general orders and procedures to assist them," Bradley County Maj. Jon Collins said Tuesday, then declined to comment further.

A passing motorist phoned authorities after noticing Foster walking along the interstate with her two children, ages 10 and 6, on May 22.

After Deputy Dustin Patrick stopped to check on Foster, she cut him with a knife. She then ran and climbed into his patrol car, Patrick reported, but not before he pulled out his pistol and fired, striking her several times.

She still managed to get behind the wheel and drive away, but drove only about 21/2 miles before veering off the interstate and crashing just north of the Harrison Pike overpass.

Six of the bullets struck Foster in her thigh and buttocks, tearing into her vagina and bladder, according to the report. A seventh hit her in the left kidney and left-hand side of the liver and an eighth hit her in the left forearm, the report said.

It's possible she was shot only seven times, the report said, because the bullet that entered her left forearm might have re-entered her left side, hitting her kidney and liver.

Patrick returned to work shortly after the incident, but has since been fired from the sheriff's office for unrelated reasons.