A Black police officer in Bossier City, Louisiana has been cleared of any wrongdoing after he fatally shot a white woman who waved scissors at him while using racial slurs.
The officer’s body cam footage captured the October 25 encounter between Officer Patrick Edmonds, Jr. and Shannon Rupert, 45, at the LaQuinta Inn, where the officer responded to a call about a disturbance.
Edmonds found an aggressive Rupert in the lobby waving scissors in her hand which he repeatedly ordered her to drop. According to reports, Rupert had been wielding the scissors at other people in a hotel lobby, blavity.com reports.
“You’re going to have to shoot me, n****r. You’re not taking them. Shoot me,” she says before running toward Edmonds.
He shot Rupert twice, killing her.
The local police department cleared Edmonds of any wrongdoing after viewing footage from his bodycam.
He has been placed on administrative leave until the final investigation is completed by the Internal Affairs Division.
In an interview with local news outlet KSLA 12, Rupert’s cousin, Melinda Peterson, admitted that Rupert had a long history of drug abuse.
“I knew she had been into drugs really bad. I tried helping her. 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,” she said.
