Watch his furry partner get excited to see him.
Video credit: AL.com
Despite all the glorification in TV and movies, the fact of the matter is that being a police officer is a dangerous business. After all, an officer is expected to rush into situations that most self-defense experts warn civilians to avoid or run away from, if possible.
What makes the job even more stressful is that things can go south before you know it. A routine call can turn into a deadly encounter without any warning. And one police officer from Auburn, Alabama, found this out for himself. Although he survived the encounter, sadly, one of his colleagues did not.
Officers were dispatched to a mobile home park after someone placed a call about a domestic disturbance.
Unknown to the officers suspect Grady Wayne Wilkes deliberately lured them in and waited to ambush them. The Army veteran was reported to have equipped himself with body armor and protective headgear apart from arming himself.
According to Auburn Police Captain Lorenza Doresy, when the officers arrived at Wilkes’ residence, they were fired upon. Before Wilkes was apprehended, he managed to hit three of the responding officers.
Court records stated: “Officers knocked on the door, and Wilkes answered the door wearing body armor and was armed with a rifle. After Wilkes opened the door, he immediately began firing at the officers.”
One officer, Evan Elliott, had non-life-threatening injuries. However, officer William Buechner succumbed to his wounds. The last officer who was wounded was officer Webb Sistrunk, a K9 handler. One round hit his shoulder.
Sistrunk’s injury required him to be placed in intensive care where doctors eventually decided to have him airlifted to Columbus, Georgia, for more specialized treatment. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help in his recovery.
However, Sistrunk’s recovery was surely sped up when he got a special visitor: his furry partner, Leon, who went to the hospital to visit the officer, reported WRBL.
Although Leon was there during the shooting, the dog luckily escaped injury, reported the Associated Press.
With medical staff lining the halls, Leon entered Sistrunk’s room. “Hey, buddy,” he remarked the moment he saw his dog, “I missed you.”
The feeling was mutual as Leon nuzzled Sistrunk’s hand. He then proceeded to leap onto the bed and plastered a series of wet kisses on the officer’s face.
“It’s really good,” Sistrunk said. “He’s my best friend.”
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