Jun 4, 2019
This week, John Jasmins joins Chief Neil Dubord to discuss the challenges he has been through throughout his career.
John Jasmins started with the Delta Police Department as a Reserve Constable, and has been a regular member with the department for over 13 years. He has worked in Patrol, Street Crime Unit, Uniform Gang Task Force, CFSEU, Youth Section, and Community Policing. Currently, John is assigned to the North Delta District Community Policing Office and is working on his Master of Laws Degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. His wife, Kristina, is also a police officer and is a member of the Surrey RCMP. Together they have 3 children: Dante, Brooklyn and Ari.
John has been through a number of difficult challenges over the course of his career, with the most recent challenge happening only a month ago (from the time this episode was recorded.) From two collision incidents to heart surgery to being stabbed while intervening in an altercation off-duty — John has been through many traumatic events but has also learned a lot along the way. In this episode, he shares in great detail the stories of each event, what he did to overcome them, how he recovered after each one, and what he did to get back to his normal working routine.
Key Takeaways:
[:45] Chief Neil Dubord welcomes John Jasmins on to the podcast.
[1:15] Chief Neil Dubord opens up this week’s podcast with an easy question for John: what did he have for breakfast?
[2:19] John speaks a bit about his career and then dives into a story of what occured while he was working towards his goal of getting into the CFSEU.
[6:42] What was going through John’s mind when he got into an accident on his first shift in his new position with the CFSEU? And was he getting the support he needed from management at the time?
[9:20] About John’s recovery from the collision accident: how long it took for him to get back to work and the long-term impacts.
[9:54] How much time did John spend with the Uniform Gang Task Force? What position in the department did he hold next?
[10:10] What the Street Crime Unit does at Delta.
[10:47] The second collision John was involved in — this time, with the Street Crime Unit — less than a year later.
[14:42] The importance of management supporting their police officers.
[15:20] Did John feel support from management with this second collision?
[15:42] What could have management done to make John feel more supported during this incident?
[16:14] How John’s career unfolded after this second collision incident.
[16:44] Now transitioned to the Youth Section at the DPD, what sort of work was John doing?
[18:30] In the fall of 2015, John fell brutally ill, leading to him needing open heart surgery.
[20:29] How long was it between the time John was diagnosed and when he had the open heart surgery? How did he manage to keep on working while waiting for the surgery?
[23:12] The tough choice John had to make with which kind of surgery he wanted to have on his heart.
[25:52] The outcome of John’s surgery, the length of his recovery period, and what he did to stay resilient.
[28:36] John begins the story of the most recent incident he was involved in.
[29:38] What were John’s first concern after being stabbed? Did he know how bad it was?
[32:10] Does John have any memories from the ambulance ride or the hospital?
[33:43] John recounts the conversations he had before his life-saving surgery.
[36:18] About John’s recovery post-surgery.
[37:21] What helped John from the organization to overcome these incidents and what he did, himself, to overcome these challenges.
[39:22] Chief Neil Dubord turns it over to Constable Aaron Hill, who speaks about becoming the victor in these kinds of situations; not the victim.
[41:01] John shares some final pieces of wisdom about the lessons he has learned.
[42:20] Chief Neil Dubord thanks John for joining him this episode!
Mentioned in this Episode:
Bend Don’t Break Episode: “The Challenge of a Lifetime: Sergeant Ray Athwal’s Wait for a New Heart”
Looking for More Episodes?
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Visit their website at DeltaPolice.ca.