Bodycam footage shows shocking moment a cop shoots dead a woman armed with scissors after she charged at him
- Incident took place on morning of October 25 in hotel in Bossier City, Louisiana
- Police officer Patrick Edmonds Jr was called to LaQuinta Inn in Bossier City
- Edmonds was responding to a call about a disorderly individual in hotel lobby
- When he arrived, he saw Shannon Rupert, 45, behind counter in the lobby
- Rupert was holding a pair of scissors while talking incoherently on the phone
- Edmonds repeatedly orders her to drop scissors, but Rupert refuses
- She emerges from behind counter and walks toward Edmonds, who shoots her
- Rupert was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead
- Prosecutors said that Edmonds was justified in using lethal force against Rupert
- Cousin said Rupert struggled with addiction and that excessive force was used
Disturbing video footage shows the horrific moment a police officer fatally shoots a woman believed to be under the influence of drugs as she refused instructions to drop a pair of scissors that she was wielding inside a hotel lobby.
Body cam and closed circuit video of the incident shows Bossier City Police officer Patrick Edmonds Jr shoot dead Shannon Rupert, 45, in the lobby of the LaQuinta Inn hotel in Bossier City, Louisiana on the morning of October 25.
A review of the incident by the Bossier Parish District Attorney’s Office has concluded that Edmonds was justified in using force, according to the Shreveport Times.
Body cam footage shows a Bossier City, Louisiana, police officer called to the lobby of a hotel after receiving reports of a disorderly person
The officer, Patrick Edmonds Jr, arrives in the lobby of the La Quinta Inn where he sees a woman, Shannon Rupert, 45, talking loudly on the phone while holding a pair of scissors
Rupert speaks incoherently and rambles while shouting racial slurs at Edmonds, who is black. She refuses his orders to put down the scissors
Edmonds responded to a report from the hotel indicating that a disorderly person was in the lobby.
The officer approached the front desk, where Rupert, a resident of Shreveport, was holding a pair of scissors in one hand while she was on the telephone.
‘Ma’am, put those scissors down,’ Edmonds said.
Rupert appeared to be talking fast while on the phone. She then is heard uttering a racial slur to Edmonds, who is black.
‘You’re gonna have to shoot me, n*****,’ she is heard saying.
Edmonds repeatedly ordered Rupert to drop the scissors, but she refused.
‘Shoot me,’ she says as she holds the phone to her ear. ‘You’re gonna have to shoot me.’
As she continues to ignore Edmonds’ commands to put the scissors down, she approaches the front desk in an apparent attempt to hang up the phone.
Edmonds then points his gun at Rupert and flashes a light in her face.
When Rupert takes a few steps toward Edwards with the scissors still in her hands, he aims his gun at her
Edmonds repeatedly orders Rupert to put the scissors down, but she refuses
‘You’re gonna have to shoot me, n*****,’ she responds. ‘You’re gonna have to shoot and kill me.’
Edmonds flashes a light into Rupert’s face while aiming his gun at her
Rupert then steps out from behind the counter and takes a few steps toward Edmonds, who opens fire
Rupert’s legs flail into the air as she is shot twice in the upper torso
Edmonds alerts fellow officers over the two-way radio, saying: ‘Shots fired. Shots fired.’
‘Put those scissors down,’ he tells her.
‘You’re gonna have to shoot me, n*****,’ she responds. ‘You’re gonna have to shoot and kill me.’
Edmonds is then heard talking into his police-issued two-way radio while Rupert continues to ramble incoherently.
The body cam footage then shows Rupert walk out front from behind the counter while animatedly talking and gesticulating with the scissors still in hand.
‘Hey, if you come over here, I will kill you!’ Edmonds yells toward Rupert as she emerges from behind the front counter.
Rupert, undeterred, continues to walk toward Edmonds before she is shot twice in the upper torso.
The incident was also captured on closed circuit television cameras in the hotel. Rupert is seen behind the counter top left while Edmonds is seen a few feet away
Rupert (bottom center) emerges from behind the counter and takes a few steps toward Edmonds after refusing his instructions to put the scissors down
Rupert is seen pointing at Edmonds as the officer continues to aim his gun at her
The moment Edmonds shoots Rupert is seen in the image above
Rupert’s legs flail high into the air after she is shot twice in the upper torso
‘Drop the scissors!’ Edmonds yells toward Rupert as she is lying on the ground with gunshot wounds.
‘Drop the scissors!’
Edmonds then alerts his fellow officers on the two-way radio, saying: ‘Shots fired. Shots fired.’
‘White female on the ground. Still got scissors in her hand.’
With Rupert on the ground writhing in pain from the gunshot wounds, Edmonds yells instructions to her: ‘Drop the scissors!’
Edmonds then notices a witness in the hotel lobby who ducked behind what appeared to be desk and orders him out.
Edmonds is seen above in his police uniform. Prosecutors say he was justified in using lethal force
Edmonds is a veteran who served in the United States Army
He is seen above playfully ‘arresting’ his fiancee Dallas Michaela Vanderpool
Edmonds recently got engaged to Vanderpool, who is seen above reacting to his marriage proposal
‘Ma’am, drop the scissors, please!’ he tells toward Rupert.
The body cam footage ends.
Rupert was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She is survived by a son.
Edmonds was placed on administrative leave by the police department pending a review of the incident by internal affairs.
On his Facebook page, Edmonds wrote on Friday: ‘First I want to thank God for keeping my mental state in tacked during this entire process.
Rupert struggled for years with drug addiction, according to her cousin
She is survived by a young son (seen above with his mother in this undated file photo)
‘I thank everyone who continued to pray for me throughout this situation.
‘Thank you for the calls and the support. Thanks for the love and many text messages sent.’
He ended the post with the hashtag #cleared.
According to his social media page, Edmonds is a military veteran.
He is recently engaged to Dallas Michaela Vanderpool.
Rupert’s family was enraged by the shooting.
Melinda Peterson, Rupert’s cousin, told KSLA-TV that she believes Edmonds used excessive force.
‘What I am disputing is why they could not have used a Taser instead or the dummy bullets because those dummy bullets will knock you down,’ she said.
Peterson told KSLA-TV that Rupert struggled with drug addiction for years.
‘I knew she had been into drugs really bad. I tried helping her,’ she said.
‘I tried talking to her to see if maybe we could get her some help, a recourse.
‘Getting her into rehab or anything like that. She was just out of it.’
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