Suspect woman fatally shot after attacking police officer and 'spotted her pants' [VIDEO]

Strasburg, VA – Body camera footage released Friday provides a detailed record of the events leading up to the Dec. 17 shooting of Melissa R. Tompkins by a city police officer. Footage shows officer George Rathore fending off Tompkins' attacks before he opened fire. four shots to the chest. Tragically, Tompkins later succumbed to his injuries at Winchester Medical Center. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled her death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds. Tompkins, a mother of five, had previously struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.

Constable Rathore, whose identity had not been released to the media earlier, was placed on administrative leave pending a criminal investigation by state police and a special prosecutor. After a thorough examination, Commonwealth's Attorney Bryan Porter, assigned as special prosecutor, determined that the officer acted within his rights to defend himself.

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“The officer involved reasonably feared serious bodily injury or death and was justified in using deadly force. Therefore, the officer will not be charged with a crime,” Porter said in an email.

Rathore, who joined the Strasburg Police Department in 2022, returned to his duties following the conclusion of an internal investigation.

Chief Sager expressed the impact of these incidents on officers, their departments and the community at large. “At the end of the day, at the end of the day, we have a job to do and our job is to protect our community, keep our community safe, enforce traffic laws, state laws, right? It's a very tragic and unfortunate situation , but the officer did what he had to do, ultimately to get home to his family and keep our community safe,” Sager said.

The shooting happened in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn on Signal Knob Road in Strasburg on the night of Dec. 17. Officer Rathore had responded to a disturbance at the hotel when he encountered Tompkins. Despite repeated warnings and attempts to subdue her with a Taser, Tompkins continued to resist and assault the officer.

The footage shows Tompkins grabbing and pulling a Taser cable before walking towards Rathore. He then proceeded to grab his police radio receiver and wrapped the lanyard around his neck. Rathore fell to the ground and, in an attempt to defend himself, swung the baton into Tompkins' leg. However, he managed to disarm him and hit him on the head with the club.

At this point, Rathore drew his firearm and demanded that Tompkins stop, but she defiantly replied, “Then don't.” As Tompkins advanced, Rathore opened fire and shot him four times in the chest. Tompkins fell to the ground and Rathore could be heard questioning his actions.

Footage also captured the arrival of other officers who administered CPR to Tompkins while they waited for emergency responders.

Meanwhile, the hotel's internal security footage showed Tompkins engaging in destructive behavior, ransacking offices and reception, as well as hiding under desks. He even pulled a security monitor off the wall upon seeing his own reflection.

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