ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) are investigating after an Ashland City woman was fatally shot by officers in the early morning hours of March 9 in Cheatham County.
The victim, identified as 51-year-old Beth Plant, is the mother of world boxing champion Caleb Plant, according to WKRN.
TBI said a 911 call was made to request an ambulance to transport an Ashland City woman (identified as Plant) to a hospital. After the ambulance left the residence, officials said Plant became combative and pulled a knife from her backpack.
The ambulance driver pulled over at New Hope Road and Highway 41A and requested law enforcement assistance.
Early information from TBI says that when a Cheatham County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at the scene, Plant was outside of the ambulance, and brandished the knife at the deputy.
The deputy fired at the woman, striking her. She was transported to a Nashville hospital where she died. No one else was injured at the scene.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation.
“As is our policy, the TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and instead refers questions of that nature to their respective department,” TBI said in a statement.
Cheatham County Sheriff Mike Breedlove released this statement to WKRN:
“It’s easy to second guess an officer’s decision when you have hours, days and months to study, scrutinize and opine from the couch. It’s another when you’re out there in the darkness as screams, blood and weapons enter into the mix. Your seconds are cut to an instant, a not so slow motion decision and training subconsciously kicks in. No Cheatham law enforcement officer or deputy wants to take a life. It’s the worst experience ever.”