'I've Always Thought of Him As a Hero': Girlfriend of Local Cop Who Raced Potential Bomb From Times Square Shares Story

Brittany Rocco said it wasn't unusual that her boyfriend Peter Cybulski had stopped answering her texts late Wednesday night.

Cybulski, 24, of Flanders, is an NYPD officer who patrols Times Square, and sometimes he gets busy and can't text for a few hours, she said.

But when she woke up at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Rocco said she had "a zillion texts" from him, beginning at 1 a.m. and telling her, "I love you. I'm okay. Just watch the news."

RELATED: Police Officer From Long Island 'Hero of New York City' After Columbus Circle Standoff

When she turned on the television, Rocco saw that the man she loves was at the center of a nationwide story about a suspect who threw what appeared to be a bomb into the police van Cybulski and his sergeant were patrolling in near Times Square.

The heroic duo didn't think twice before speeding from the scene, lights flashing, to get what could have been a deadly explosive as far away from Times Square as possible.

Rocco told Cybulski he needed to call her, and when he did, he was preparing for a widely televised press conference with New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton, who called the pair the "heroes of New York City."

The man who threw the fake bomb (see the video below), Hector Meneses, 52, of East Elmhurst, Queens, has been charged with nine different counts after being pulled out of his SUV Thursday morning near Columbus Circle, police said.

The experience was very emotional for Rocco. "As scary as it is, my boyfriend and his sergeant are heroes, who would have done whatever it took to save the lives of those around them. I couldn't be any more proud of the man I love and can't thank God enough for the way the situation ended," she wrote on Facebook.

Rocco told Patch, "It was a relief to know that he was OK and nothing terrible had happened."

The couple has been dating for four years; their romance began when both were students at Riverhead High School.

While Wednesday night's bomb threat was "terrifying," Rocco said, "It's what he loves to do. He loves to help people and the feeling of protecting people. He patrols every day to make sure people are safe. It's a hard job to do, and now, with everything that's going on, it makes it even more difficult, but he enjoys what he's doing."

Cybulski told Rocco on the phone that when the possible bomb was thrown into the car, he just put it in his lap. "He looked at his sergeant and they took off, to get it as far out of Times Square as he could. He was really nervous. They both started praying and hoping for the best."

Of his heroism, Rocco, 21, said, "His reaction to the whole thing doesn't surprise me. He's always wanted to help people. It's what he's always wanted to do."

Since they met, Rocco said, "I've always thought of him as a hero. He goes to do this job every day, a job so many people wouldn't even think of doing. This just makes him more of a hero in my eyes."

Filled with pride, Rocco said she knows in the back of his mind, the man she loves was thinking of her and his family.

"He was making sure everyone else's family would be safe, too," she said. "He would want someone else to do the same for us. I'm so proud of him. I love him so much."