A police officer in Deer Park, Texas risked his life in a recent tornado to save his K-9 partner of six years.
Officer Joel Nitchman and his K-9 partner Roni had just gotten back to the police station from training when the winds started picking up. As the weather started getting worse, Roni remained stuck in his kennel in the squad car.
“The thought of debris or the car flipping over — I couldn’t, couldn’t do that to him, I couldn’t have him out there during that,” Nitchman said.
Surveillance footage captures Nitchman running outside with lighting flashing, barely able to see in front him.
“I knew something was bad when things were hitting my face, I don’t know what– I knew it was debris of some kind,” Nitchman said.
Thing only got worse when Nitchman went around the car and couldn’t get Roni out due to strong wind and rain.
“I could barely open his door,” Nitchman said. “When I did, he’s a smart dog. He saw what was going on outside, and he was like, ‘I’m not coming out.'”
Nitchman was eventually able to coax Roni out of the car, and seconds later the pair is seen rushing back around the cruiser towards the station.
Nitchman is now being celebrated for choosing to put himself in harm’s way to save his K-9 partner, but he says he did what he needed to and would do it again in a heartbeat.
“I love that dog,” he said. “He’s my hip attachment almost every day of the week. He’s a part of our family. You can’t leave a loved one like that. There’s no way I was going to leave him like that.”
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