Courageous Act - Columbus, Ohio
Police Officer Called Hero By Colleagues
December 10, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Relatives of Columbus Police Officer James D. Niggemeyer said Thursday that they were not surprised he charged into the Alrosa Villa nightclub before backup arrived. The 1992 Newark Catholic High School graduate comes from a family of police officers and military veterans, NBC 4 reported.
Relatives told NBC 4 that his grandfather is a retired police chief at Ohio University. Niggemeyer, a U.S. Army veteran, also has relatives who worked in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Pentagon, and other police work.
"He's from such a militaristic, old world chivalristic family," Niggemeyer's former stepfather Steve Detty said. "That means military. That means police work. The whole family's always been on that side of the law."
Niggemeyer, a five-year veteran of the police force, was the first on the scene within two minutes of the first call at Alrosa Villa. He went inside and shot Nathan Gale, who at that point had a hostage. "The community has a hero," said Columbus police Sgt. Brent Mull.
According to police and witnesses, another police officer from out of town who was at the Damageplan concert got the gunman's attention. A security guard led Niggemeyer to a side entrance by the stage, by the gunman who was holding the hostage.
Niggemeyer, who was about 20 feet away, fired one shot, which contained nine slugs from his 12-gauge shotgun, and hit Gale in the right side of his head and upper body. The shooting happened within seconds, less than one minute after the officer arrived at the scene, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.
Retrieved January 13, 2006 from http://www.nbc4i.com/news/3989100/detail.html