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SAN DIEGO – Less than two months after a taking part in a dramatic rescue at Sunset Cliffs, a San Diego police officer will be honored by the San Diego City Council.

 “It’s pretty crazy,” said K9 Officer Jonathan Wiese. “I would have never guessed it.”

The City Council Tuesday passed a proclamation designating Aug. 6 as Jonathan Wiese Day. The 22-year veteran of the police force responded to a call at Sunset Cliffs on June 13 after police say a suicidal father intentionally drove over the edge with his twin daughters on his lap. Wiese was one of the first to arrive at the scene. He grabbed his 100-foot-long tactical dog leash and used it to rappel down the cliff. He pulled the father and two girls out of the upside-down pickup and tied the leash around one of the girls so rescuers could pull her up to safety. The other girl and her father were pulled up by helicopter.

 “You just kind of make your own luck,” Wiese said, remembering that day “I am always moving, trying to find something to do. It’s just being in the right place at the right time.”

Wiese also made headlines in 2019. While driving home for  a lunch break in Poway, he heard scanner traffic about a shooting at The Chabad synagogue and arrested the alleged shooter, 19-year-old John Earnest.  Weise credits luck and his rare ability to listen to multiple traffic scanners at the same time.

 “One of the best parts of being a K-9 handler is I’m allowed to go throughout the city and county. So, I’m not tied to a division or command. And I have a scanner that most officers don’t have,” he said. “I have outside agencies and frequencies similar to what a helicopter would have. So, I’m listening to a hundred frequencies at a time. I’m a hyper person, I’m like a K-9 in that I can’t sit still. You put all those things together and I’m in the right position.”

Previously, Wiese won an award for K-9 Handler of the Year, and last year he won an award for Officer of the Year. Now the city is honoring him with a special day. It all makes you wonder what’s next.

 “I don’t know,” he laughed. “My wife says I can lay low for a couple years.”