CANARYVILLE — Chicago Police Officer John Pigott was in the parking lot of a West Side fried chicken joint when he was run over and tossed onto the hood of a car.
As the driver tried to speed away, the veteran officer kept his wits and opened fire, striking the driver's head and hands.
The gunfire caused the driver, an alleged kidnapper, to crash into a cement pillar, and the impact smashed Pigott onto the pavement with serious injuries that reportedly included multiple broken bones.
More than 1½ years after that Nov. 4, 2012, incident — which took place on the veteran officer's 16-year anniversary on the job — Pigott collected two police department awards for his remarkable bravery.
The Canaryville resident was given the Superintendent's Award for Valor, issued by the department for "an act of outstanding bravery or heroism" and the Blue Star Award, given to officers who've been "seriously, critically, or fatally injured while in the performance of police duty."
Ceremonies were held earlier this week. Pigott received the awards from Police Supt. Garry McCarthy and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Pigott's quick-thinking led to the arrest of Nicholas Sauer, a 27-year-old parolee, who was charged with child abduction after trying to kidnap his infant daughter, authorities said.
Pigott, a former bodyguard for Mayor Richard M. Daley, was one of a handful of police officers booted from mayoral security detail days after Emanuel took office in 2011.
Those officers filed a federal lawsuit alleging they were removed to make room for Emanuel political hires, a charge the city called "baseless and false," the Sun-Times reported.
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