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player ready...As an altar boy, Nickolaus Schultz would sing “loud enough for the angels to hear him,” the Rev. Peter Muha said Monday.
It was the closest anyone came to a light-hearted recollection during a somber funeral service for Schultz, the first Merrillville, Ind., police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
Schultz was remembered as a hero and warrior, sometimes rough on the outside but with a soft heart.
Muha was joined by Indiana Gov. Michael Pence, U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly and more than 1,200 people during the service at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, where schools were closed, businesses posted messages of condolence and flags flew at half staff.
Schultz, 24, was shot Sept. 5 while responding to a call involving an evicted man who had moved back into a condominium. He was taken off life support two days later and his organs donated to six people, authorities said.
“He saved lives at the cost of his own,” Pence said. “He lived a heroic life to the end.
“Heroes like Nick Schultz give us hope.”
Before Monday’s service, hundreds of attendees filed past Schultz’s coffin, which was covered by an American flag. On the stage was an array of floral arrangements and framed photos, including one of Schultz in a football uniform. His police uniform shirt and knotted tie hung nearby on the wall.
Schultz’s parents, grandparents and sister listened as Muha read a brief statement from Schultz’s mother, Colleen, in which she called her son her “teddy bear.”
Outside the service, Joe Hamer, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police’s critical incident/memorial committee, noted the turnout and support from the community.
“It’s very important to the family. It shows how much Nick meant to everyone, whether they knew him personally or not,” he said.
Schultz grew up in Lowell, Ind., and received his first Communion at St. Edward Catholic Church from Muha, who would later be transferred to a Merrillville parish. And as an officer, Schultz began directing traffic there after Mass, Muha said.
He “led by example,” Muha said. “It was no surprise to everyone that he was the first officer to approach the door on that night.”
Hamer characterized the Sept. 5 shooting as an ambush, saying Schultz followed his training. “Every officer that was there did as they were trained,” he said.
Schultz’s assailant shot and killed himself.
Merrillville Police Chief Joseph Petruch said his last contact with Schultz was giving him a new ballcap to replace one that was showing signs of wear. He said Schultz represented exactly what the department wanted in new officers, recalling him as “a strong young man who wanted to make a difference in the world.”
Schultz graduated in 2009 from Lowell High School, where he played on the champion Red Devils football team, which competed in the state finals in 2007 and semi-state competition in 2008.
He graduated in spring 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from Franklin College, where he was co-captain of the football team.
He graduated from the police academy in Hobart, Ind., in November 2013.
Schultz served 13 months on the police force in Merrillville, a community of about 35,000.
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Donnelly said Schultz developed “a strong legacy in such a short time,” calling him “a warrior for good and for all the right things.”