COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A man whose ex-girlfriend reported that he was armed and looking to kill police was in custody on Monday suspected in the death of an officer whose body was found behind the municipal building of a small Ohio town, authorities said.
The body of Danville Officer Thomas Cottrell was found late Sunday night, about 20 minutes after the ex-girlfriend of Herschel Ray Jones called dispatchers to report that officers in Danville were in danger, Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer said.
Shaffer said dispatchers tried to make contact with Cottrell after receiving the tip around 11:20 p.m., but couldn’t reach him.
The sheriff’s office then searched the village and found Cottrell’s body, Shaffer said. His service weapon and cruiser were missing.
Officials did not immediately say how Cottrell died. But Chief Jim Gilbert, the chief deputy of the Franklin County Sheriff’s office, tweeted early Monday: “Prayers for Ohio’s first fallen officer for 2016 a Danville PD Officer was shot/killed this evening in Knox County.”