A police officer was seen fighting through destructive winds to rescue his K9 partner in Deer Park, Texas, as a tornado hit the city on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
In security camera footage that went viral, Officer Joel Nitchman is seen rushing out of a police station into the middle of a raging storm to rescue his police dog, Ronie, from his cruiser.
While Officer Nitchman struggles against strong gusts of air and precipitation outside the station, another person appears from the parking lot and is seen sprinting inside to safety.
The officer later acknowledged that he couldn’t see anything outside for a while.
“I knew something was bad when things were hitting my face,” he said. “I knew it was debris of some kind. Once I went around the car, that’s when all heck broke loose. I could barely open his door. When I did—he’s a smart dog—he saw what was going on outside and he said I’m not coming out.”
Nitchman coaxed the dog, saying, “Come on buddy. Let’s go,” but even then it took a while to persuade the K9 to exit out into the storm.
Nitchman and Roni have been inseparable partners since 2018. After the video went viral, Nitchman said he would do it again.
“I love that dog,” he said. “He’s my hip attachment almost every day of the week. He’s a part of our family. We can’t leave a loved one like that. There’s no way I was going to leave him like that.”
According to the National Weather Service in Houston, an EF3 tornado blasted over Pasadena and Deer Park on Wednesday, with an estimated maximum path length of 18 miles. The tornado’s maximum path width was 0.66 miles, while its top wind speed reached 140 miles per hour.
The tornado caused considerable property damage in Deer Park although there were no fatalities.
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