Fifty-three-year-old John Jaros, a manager at Safeway, doesn’t remember much about the night of Dec. 8 except being told later by doctors that he didn’t have a pulse.

That night, Boulder police responded to the Safeway at Arapahoe Avenue and 28th Street on a report of an employee who had suffered a heart attack.

“I was clinically dead for about five to eight minutes,” Jaros said. “I don’t remember, but seeing some footage of it really put it in a different perspective.”

When Boulder police Officers Jazmine Striegel and Mason Hadley arrived at the grocery store and found Jaros on the floor, they knew what to do.

“I think we were the first two on scene,” said Striegel, who said she’s been in the Navy for roughly 11 years as a hospital corpsman, or medic, and still works part time out of the Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora. “It was over at the self checkout area, and John was unconscious on the ground.

“People were still checking out their groceries, and I noticed that Mason was actively doing CPR and John didn’t have a pulse,” Striegel added. “I asked if he wanted me to take over and so I did.”

Hadley wasn’t originally assigned to the call, but he was nearby, he said, so he responded to the scene.

“I acquiesced to her because she is a naval corpsman,” Hadley said, adding: “I don’t think he gained a pulse until probably around that seven-minute mark.”

While Striegel administered CPR, Hadley measured Jaros’ pulse.

“I would say we were the only ones with John for maybe three to four minutes until (medical help) arrived there with their (defibrillator) and the majority of their equipment,” Striegel said.Jaros was transported to the hospital, still unconscious, Striegel said, and she tagged along to make sure Jaros was all right.

“I stayed at the hospital just to see what the outcome was going to be,” Striegel said. “The physicians I talked to weren’t certain if he was going to make it or not.”

When they initially didn’t hear any news, they worried about the outcome, Hadley said.

“I think from basic medical knowledge, with him being out for that long, through this period of time we were kind of thinking the worst,” Hadley said.

“We were both in the dark for about three months until John reached out to the police department and let us know he was alive and well,” Striegel said.

When Striegel and Hadley met up at Safeway to meet Jaros again in March, they both felt relieved.

“I couldn’t believe it was the same person, just seeing the smile on his face — it was just incredible, seeing that he was alive and well and joking,” Striegel said.

Hadley added that “remarkably, it seemed like he was unaffected.”

Jaros said his healing process was surprisingly quick, noting he was in the hospital for a month and then moved to an in-patient rehabilitation facility for another two months.

“I am feeling well,” Jaros said. “My health is good, and the cardiologist said I can live a long, happy, healthy life as long as I take care of myself.

“I can’t believe that I don’t have brain damage or any limb damage — I have all my faculties, and it’s sort of like it never happened,” Jaros added.

Striegel said she and Hadley were hired by the police department in December 2023, graduated from the police academy in May 2024 and officially began their duty as patrol officers a month or two before the Safeway call.

Dionne Waugh, spokeswoman for the Boulder Police Department, said Boulder Fire-Rescue and American Medical Response, or AMR, provided assistance during the incident.

Jaros thanked people in his life who were crucial to his recovery, starting with two of his coworkers.

“My cashier Sergio, it was only me and him, and he was the one who called 911, so I’d like to thank him,” Jaros said. “I want to thank Brian at my work for taking care of my cat. He took my keys, cleaned her litter box, and he would bring my mail and it was really helpful.”

Jaros said he was also incredibly grateful for his family, especially his Uncle Tony.

“I also want to thank my Uncle Tony, who helped me get my family out here to see me and was integral in helping me,” Jaros said, adding: “But without the officers’ help, I wouldn’t be able to thank anybody else. I can thank everybody in the world, but without those two, I would not be here to thank anybody.”