The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Officer James D. Niggemeyer was on patrol in a thinly staffed police precinct on the city’s north side when the call came in about shots fired at a popular night club.
Niggemeyer, a five-year veteran of the department, was blocks away and arrived at Alrosa Villa less than three minutes after the first 911 calls were reported.
He entered from the back, confronted a hostage-holding gunman and, a moment later, killed the man without hurting the hostage.
“I can’t say enough of his abilities, his skills and the way he went about and conducted this,” said police Sgt. Brent Mull, a department spokesman.
“If the officer wasn’t as close as he was, I think this would have been a lot worse,” Mull said. “It was a chaotic scene, just a horrific scene.”
Niggemeyer, 31, of suburban Columbus, was not available for interviews, the department said. His phone was not in service Thursday.
He is assigned to the night shift in the club’s precinct. He had never been involved in a shooting.
Niggemeyer will be able to take time off for counseling, Mull said. Under department policy a review board will examine the shooting, he said.