The word “hero’ is too often used for people that aren’t actually heroes. There’s nothing heroic about being gay or trans, just like there is nothing heroic about being a highly paid professional athlete. There’s nothing heroic about burning down cities under the guise on social justice, and there’s nothing heroic about standing in front of a green-screen and pretending to be a superhero. However, if we look around, we see heroes every day. Cops, firefighters, first responders, military. You know, the people that rush into a crisis situation when the majority of people are wetting their diapers. Those are heroes. Those are the people that should be held up. Recently an officer in Texas stared down an EF-3 tornado to save his k-9 partner from harm. Now that’s a hero. Check this out.
The tornado that touched down in Deer Park, Texas, on Jan. 24 may have ripped through stone and metal, but it ultimately found a bond it couldn’t break.
Footage showing Deer Park Police Officer Joel Nitchman running back to his squad car mid-tornado for his furry partner, K-9 Roni, has gone viral.
Watch as K-9 Officer Joel Nitchman of the Deer Park, TX Police Dept. races to rescue his #dog Roni as the EF3 #tornado hits on Tue. As he said, "Any handler would have done the same for their K-9 partner." Very happy that both are safe!#dogsarelove
đŸ“¹@DEERPARKTXGOV pic.twitter.com/1jrI8fQuzn— Mike Seidel (@mikeseidel) January 26, 2023
Tornadoes are some of the deadliest, most unpredictable natural events. You simply never know when the atmospheric conditions will be quite right for a twister. The tornado in Deer Park was one such event.
KHOU reported that narcotics K-9 Roni and Nitchman, who have worked together to protect the community for over five years, had completed training and returned to the DPP station when the afternoon sky turned ominously dark.
Roni was still in his kennel in the rear of the squad car when visibility dropped to near-zero and winds began whipping debris, even moving a metal fence, thereby blocking the entrance of the station.
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Nitchman, who told KHOU that Roni has “put himself in harm’s way for me before,” knew he had to return the favor, noting, “The thought of debris, or the car flipping over … I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t have him out there during that.”
Despite the debris flying in his face, lightning strikes and blinding wind and rain, Nitchman pried the door open, and despite Roni not being exactly excited about what was going on, the officer got him out and they ran to safety.
Police dog rescued from car before Texas tornado strikes https://t.co/9SCL914TaP
— Tellme Times (@tellmetimes) February 1, 2023
“I love that dog. He’s my hip attachment almost every day of the week,” said Nitchman. “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.
How many among us would show that type of bravery in the face of a tornado to save another person, no less an animal? Joel Nitchman didn’t hesitate to rush back into the face of danger to assist his partner. That’s what a hero is, and now both officers are alive and together because of his efforts.