An off-duty Virginia police officer happened to be dressed as Mrs. Claus while driving home one night this December when she saw a 25-year-old woman leaning over a bridge rail. Still in costume, but no less committed to her community, the officer pulled over and took action to save a life.
It was just after 8 p.m. on Dec. 13, and Lieutenant Tabatha Merrell, of Fredericksburg Sheriff’s Office, was departing Fredericksburg’s Public Safety Santa Run when she first spotted the young female on the Falmouth Bridge, leaning over the barrier and looking down into the river.
