Two Erie Police officers who first met as partners on the street recently walked down the aisle and said 'I do.'

Tom and Kristen Lenox were paired up in 2013. Kristen was a new recruit, and Tom was a veteran of the Erie force.

They started off as partners on the street and graduated to friends, which they say was inevitable. Typically, officers who ride together form a special bond where trust is paramount.

“Let's face it," said Tom. "Your lives are in each others hands, period, and things can change in the drop of three seconds.”

“A lot of people don't understand what you see or go through, except for your partner, so you do form a relationship, or bond, a level of trust, because you have to trust the person you're partnered with,” said Kristen.

Police officers often deal with people in the worst situations, and they also deal with the worst individuals.

So, is it a challenge for this couple to keep work and home separate? They say they actually often bring work home, and they're okay with it.

“With us, our work comes home with us, but it's a beneficial thing because it's like a therapy session because we can talk about it,” said Kristen.

“As police officers, we're protectors," said Tom. "We want to keep things in. We don't want to talk about our day and sometimes the atrocious things we see as officers, so it is nice to come home and basically debrief with the person that's in the same profession as you, and it is 100 percent therapeutic."

In addition to raising their children, both are very involved in the Police Athletic League, often volunteering their time to work with kids to form positive relationships between Erie's youth and police.