But he had to leave the police force three years later, and says he's never recovered from the emotional pain of the horror incident. Niggemeyer tells the Columbus Dispatch: "I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety disorder.

"I found out that you don't have any control over your brain. It's going to do what it's going to do. Cops are regular human beings - things affect us the same way they affect everyday citizens. We relive it and have to deal with it."