Woman shot by police was local nursing student

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The police officer who shot and killed a woman while trying to arrest her Saturday is upset about how it ended, but the woman gave him no choice, said a Norfolk police spokesman.

The officer was trying to arrest 22-year-old Tynisha Townsend after receiving reports of her allegedly threatening her husband with a hammer.  Officers responded to the 200 block of Bay Avenue to find Townsend sitting in her car.

Police say Townsend, a nursing student at Norfolk State University, refused to obey the officer and get out of the car. The officer reached in the car to try to stop her from leaving, she allegedly bit the officer’s arm, then rolled up the window, trapping the officer's arm in the window.  Investigators say at that point Townsend hit the gas and dragged the officer some 50 feet into a busy six-lane roadway before he grabbed his weapon and shot her. She died at the hospital.

Police spokesman Chris Amos said, "If she had just complied she would have been arrested and possibly out by now, but she didn't.  She forced the officer to do what he had to do."  Amos went on to say, "This officer did as he was trained. He did what I hope the public would expect him to do when confronting a wanted felon, take action."

According to police reports, obtained by WAVY.com Monday, Townsend and her husband had a violent relationship. Court documentation states the couple was going through a separation.

In June, Townsend, according to a police report, "had an argument with her husband and to 'prove a point'  she ingested 25-30 pills of Excedrin...she became ill and called 911."

Then, on November 20, Norfolk officers were called to the couple's apartment again after they had an arguement and according to the incident report, Townsend ripped the side panelling strip off her husband's vehicle.

Just days before the deadly police-involved shooting, on December 8, Tynisha’s husband filed a police report for Domestic Assault. The document states that he returned home that day and was immediately assaulted by his wife. The report states she grabbed him by his face and started punching him. A friend separated them. The next day an Emergency Protective Order was taken out against Tynisha ordering her to stay away from her husband.

Sentara confirms Townsend was a nursing student at Norfolk State University . She was getting her clinical hours at Sentara Careplex in Hampton.

Saturday’s deadly shooting remains under investigation.