Strasburg, VA – Body camera footage released on Friday provides a detailed record of the events leading up to the shooting of Melissa R. Tompkins by a town police officer on December 17. The footage shows Officer George Rathore defending himself against Tompkins’ attacks before firing four shots into her chest. Tragically, Tompkins later succumbed to her 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.
Officer Rathore, whose identity had not been disclosed to the media prior, 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 the special prosecutor, determined that the officer acted within his rights to defend himself.
“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 criminal offense,” Porter stated in an email.
Rathore, who joined the Strasburg Police Department in 2022, returned to full duty following the conclusion of an internal investigation.
Chief Sager expressed the impact of such incidents on officers, their departments, and the community at large. “Ultimately, 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, unfortunate situation, but the officer, he did what he had to do, ultimately to bring himself home to his family and keep our community safe,” Sager remarked.
The shooting took place in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn on Signal Knob Road in Strasburg on the night of December 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 aggress against the officer.
The footage shows Tompkins grabbing and pulling a Taser wire before walking toward Rathore. She then proceeded to grab his police radio receiver and wrap its cord around his neck. Rathore fell to the ground, and in an attempt to defend himself, he swung his baton at Tompkins’ leg. However, she managed to disarm him and strike him in the head with the baton.
At this point, Rathore drew his firearm and demanded that Tompkins stop, but she defiantly responded, “Then don’t.” As Tompkins moved forward, Rathore opened fire, shooting her four times in the chest. Tompkins fell to the ground, and Rathore was heard questioning her actions.
The footage also captured the arrival of other officers who administered CPR to Tompkins while waiting for emergency responders.
Meanwhile, the hotel’s internal security footage showed Tompkins engaging in destructive behavior, ransacking offices and the front desk, as well as hiding under desks. She even pulled a security monitor from the wall upon seeing her own reflection.