{"id":3370,"date":"2020-06-19T09:30:14","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T16:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=3370"},"modified":"2020-06-19T11:35:21","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T18:35:21","slug":"heroic-san-diego-police-department-officer-rescues-family-after-man-drives-off-cliffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=3370","title":{"rendered":"Heroic San Diego Police Department Officer Rescues Family After Man Drives Off Cliffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Julianne Foster<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In light of the tragic events surrounding George Floyd, masses of protests and riots across the nation have demanded the defunding or dismantling of police departments. The entire police force as a whole has been blamed for the one percent of police officers who abuse their authority. In the midst of all this chaos, officers are still leaving their families every day to put on their uniform and go out to protect their communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One such officer is San Diego Police Department officer of the year, Jonathan Wiese. Officer Wiese has shown exceptional dedication to his community throughout his 22 years of service. Of the countless instances of his honorable behavior, perhaps the most notable has been his arrest of the 19-year-old who opened fire with an assault rifle on a Jewish Synagogue in Poway during last year’s Passover. Following what he heard over the radio, Wiese saw the suspect in his car outside of Phil\u2019s BBQ in Rancho Bernardo and bravely made the arrest on his own, preventing any further harm from being done.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wiese\u2019s heroics have continued to prove our need for police officers, as he recently saved a suicidal man and his twin two-year-old daughters. The sheriff\u2019s department received a call from the man\u2019s wife at around 4:30 a.m. that he had left in a truck with their twins and had plans to drive off the Coronado Bridge. Wiese recalled hearing the report over the radio: “Male subject left his house with his twin two-year-old daughters, was possibly armed with a gun and threatening suicide by driving his truck off the Coronado Bridge.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Wiese himself has a wife, a four-year-old son, and a two-year-old daughter, which caused the situation to affect him very personally. He later explained, “I would do for the public, what I would do for [my family]. I treat everyone that way. I treat them as if they were my family down there, and that\u2019s pretty much what happened in this case.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The vehicle was spotted by Lt. Dave Bautista on Hill Street near Cornish Drive from where the man continued on and drove off Sunset Cliffs. Wiese\u2019s mind was racing, hoping the man hadn\u2019t kept his two daughters in the truck. Miraculously, the daughters had survived since the father was holding them in his lap when he drove off. If they had been in the backseat, they likely would not have survived. After the crash, the father could be seen struggling to tread water with the toddlers in his arms.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udea8Hero Alert@SanDiegoPD<\/a> K9 Officer Jonathan Wiese\u00a0saved 3 lives today.<\/p>\n

"The K9 officer stripped off his gun belt & vest, wrapped the dog leash around his chest & threw one end over the cliffs. He gave the other end to arriving officers. He said, 'Hey, hang on. I'm going.'" pic.twitter.com\/LJjvkkW2u5<\/a><\/p>\n

— K9s of Valor (@k9sofvalor) June 16, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n