OGLETHORPE — Nicole Murillo called her family to take cover when she heard the warnings over her radio. While her son and husband huddled in the bathroom of their home on Ga. Highway 224 in Montezuma, she was dispatched into the storm for a safety call.

The 23-year-old police officer was checking door to door in an apartment complex when the funnel cloud passed over Oglethorpe. One of the residents pulled her inside until it passed.

“It got really badm” Murillo said. “The funnel cloud was maybe 20 yards away and it was spinning; then it lifted off.”

She resumed patrol, checked for downed trees and made a stop at Dollar General.

“It was the only place open so I checked in on them,” said Murillo. 

The power was going on and off and Assistant Manager Lynn Woodard had to close and lock the store.

“We didn’t have phones, electricity or cell service,” Woodard said. “The storm had quieted down and Nicole stopped by to check on us and make sure everything was OK.”

Murillo explained that she was just about to leave the store to go outside to the patrol car to do security checks when then the storm returned. She was standing about three feet inside the door near the shopping carts when lightning struck her radio mike and spun her around.

“It blew the mike and radio completely off my person,” she said. “It didn’t knock me off my feet, but it definitely got my attention. I was glad it didn’t hit the taser or the gun. It could have been worse.”

Two new cashiers were working with Woodard on Saturday afternoon. She pointed to their positions at the cash registers and motioned towards the DVD rack where Murillo was standing.

“It sounded like breaking glass. We heard this loud pop and saw her spin around and her radio fly off. I put both my arms out and pulled Jennifer and April down,” Woodard said.

“Her mama wings went out,” said Jennifer Raper, pointing at Woodard, “and we were dunking down behind the counter.”

Raper and April Joiner just started working at the store a few weeks ago. Woodward has worked there for a year. Woodard said she hopes to never experience anything like that again.

“It was scary, very scary,” she said.

Raper said, “She did not cry.”

Murillo’s eyes are big when she nods her head, “I did not cry.”

“I turned back around and then just felt the burning,” Murillo said. 

She was burned on her face, neck, shoulder, back, hand and foot. 

“Thank goodness I had my boots on. It went out through my toe. My toes were burnt the worst.”

She has much praise to offer the first responders and emergency personnel. With phone, cell and radio service interrupted by the storm, calling them was not immediately possible.

“When I finally got service, I called my dispatcher, who did an awesome job. Sheila Cross from the Red Cross was the first person to arrive.

“I was on the way to get back in the car, but I went in the ambulance instead,” she laughs. “All the EMS workers were great. My mom was here in a matter of minutes. They got her calmed down.” 

Murillo sent her mother to tell Luke and Jorge that she was OK.

Murillo’s home was in the immediate path of the F1 tornado, so downed trees on Highway 224 impeded the way. Emergency crews worked to help get her mother through the storm debris to reach her family.

“Everyone on the response teams was amazing,” she said.

She was very grateful when her son and husband met her at Flint River Hospital.

“I only had to be in the hospital one night,” she said.

Her heart rhythm and blood pressure were monitored until stabilized and her burns were treated. She ranks the experience well below her taser training.

“They shoot you for a full five seconds. This made that seem like nothing,” Murillo shows her hand. “They were all purple, but now they are back the right color.”

She earned certifications in law enforcement from South Georgia Technical College in 2010, and joined the Oglethorpe Police Department. She is currently working on her degree in criminal justice. She chose law enforcement because she enjoys helping people.

“Public service gets in your blood,” she said. “You either like it or you don’t.”

Murillo is the daughter of Jewell and Mike Moore of Oglethorpe and Dean and Janet Lucas of Americus. She is married to Jorge Murillo and their son Luke will turn one on Saturday.