VALENTINE, Neb. -- Every year hundreds of law enforcement officers either die or suffer severe injuries while on duty. Earlier this year, Ross Bartlett, a police officer from Ceresco, Nebraska died during a traffic stop. A Valentine police officer knows firsthand how life-changing everyday parts of the job can be.

At 5 feet tall and 100 pounds, Valentine Police Officer Jasmine Hoefs may be small in stature, but she’s definitely a force to be reckoned with.

“I said she was the toughest gal I’ve ever met. She said, ‘I’m not tough. I’m stubborn,’” Valentine Police Chief Dana Miller said.

The self-proclaimed stubborn woman has been a police officer for 13 years. She juggles a busy job while raising two young children.

“She loves us a bunch, and she’s really kind,” Jasmine's daughter Brynn said.

Her daughter was six years old and her son Jeremiah four when a seemingly normal medical call turned potentially deadly. During the middle of a blizzard in December of 2022, a front-end loader backed over her.

“It’s a very humbling moment because you’re thinking there’s no way. This is it. All I could think of was wanting to say goodbye to my kids and what they’re going to go through. That’s all that was running through my head—my babies,” Hoefs said.

Hoefs suffered severe injuries to her face and arm.

“It broke bones from my shoulder down to my hand, but from my elbow down, the skin was traumatized as well,” Hoefs said.

“Dad told us what happened, and I started to cry,” Brynn said.

“It was that sinking feeling, and I ended up having to get a snowcat to dig me out to get to town,” Miller said.

Because of the blizzard, Hoefs couldn’t be life-flighted out. The more than a foot of snow had also closed all the nearby roads.

“When that didn’t work, they lined up snow plows from here to Norfolk to get the ambulance there safely,” Hoefs said.

Once making it to Norfolk, Hoefs underwent 20 different surgeries—most of them on her arm. She spent around a month in the hospital, including Christmas.

“She’s really strong and brave,” Brynn said.

That she is. Despite her injuries, Hoefs worked hard to not only recover, but return to the force.

“Knowing what they were going through to keep this town safe with three of them-that was a push to come back, so they could have some normalcy in their life too,” Hoefs said.

After almost a year away from the job, Hoefs has returned to what she calls her second family.

“It’s just good to have our family back together,” Miller said.

“They helped me come back and were patient and supportive of me. There’s no better place to work,” Jasmine said.

“God was really on her side. She's certainly got more in this world to do,” Miller said.

A purpose and a new perspective on life.

“When I left for work that morning, it was a medical call. I’ve gone on so many of them...How quickly everything happened made me appreciate more of just slowing down and enjoying the people around me and the things around me,” Hoefs said.