Tulsa Officer Speaks Publicly For First Time Since Being Shot During Traffic Stop

The Tulsa Police officer who survived being shot in the head during a traffic stop is sharing his story of triumph, exclusively with News On 6. It's the first time Aurash Zarkeshan is speaking publicly about what those first days, weeks, and now years of recovery have been like.

Zarkeshan and Sergeant Craig Johnson were shot while on the job nearly three years ago. Johnson died from his injuries. Zarkeshan survived and doctors said he’s living proof people can have a good life even after enduring a traumatic brain injury.

"They say I am a walking miracle, but I am just a survivor, and I am happy to be one,” said Zarkeshan.

Officer Zarkeshan has no memory of June 29, 2020, which is the day that changed his life forever.

Dr. Yashar Kalani, a neurosurgeon at Ascension St. John, had moved to Tulsa just a few months before the shooting.

"It was early in the morning and I was driving to work and I got a call that an officer had been involved in a shooting,” Dr. Kalani said. "I remember coming into the emergency room and seeing him laying there. He was in trouble. The operating room was ready, so I wheeled him up from the emergency room myself, put him on the table, was able to stop the bleeding and repair the injury."

While all of Tulsa was captivated by the shooting scene and people were mourning the loss of Sergeant Johnson, Zarkeshan was in the neuro trauma ICU at Ascension St. John fighting for his life. People were hoping and praying he would pull through.

"The challenge was not knowing what had happened and getting all of the information from other people,” said Zarkeshan.

Zarkeshan didn't find out until a month after the traffic stop that his supervisor and friend, Craig Johnson, had passed away.

Three weeks after the shooting, Zarkeshan was transferred to Craig Hospital in Colorado, which specializes in neurorehabilitation. He spent three months there, where doctors repaired part of his skull using 3D printing. He then started his road to recovery.

"Recovery from brain injuries can take months to years and the full scope of recovery isn't evident immediately,” said Dr. Kalani.

Dr. Kalani said brain injuries are more common than people think. Kids get them in sports, adults often get them from traffic crashes, and the elderly get brain injuries from falling and hitting their head.

"The fear that most people have, especially immediately after a big accident or big trauma to the head, is this person going to be cognitively the same as the person they were before the injury, to reengage with society, like hold down a job, have family relations, have the spousal relations that are needed,” said Dr. Kalani.

Dr. Kalani said it can be frustrating for patients with brain injuries because they face different challenges like memory loss, speaking issues, and can struggle with relationships.

"The bottom line is, what you see at the time of the initial injury is not what you are going to end up with. People do get better, it just takes time,” said Dr. Kalani.

In Zarkeshan's case, he has memory loss and has to write everything down in notes on his phone to help him remember.

"The deficits they have are real. It is very real for that patient because it has altered their way of life and quality of life. But it need not be a permanent disability," said Dr. Kalani. "People do learn to cope with it and resume their life, but what is really required is for the patients themselves to really have the willingness to engage in the therapy, but also for their families to be supportive the community to be supportive."

Support from family and friends is something Zarkeshan has had from day one. Tulsa has had his back.

"I'm always reminded of the people who would come to Colorado just to visit me. Chief Franklin did, the Mayor even did, and friends from Oklahoma City that I had before moving here. They surprised me for my birthday and brought my dog, which was special for me,” said Zarkeshan.

When Zarkeshan finally got back to Oklahoma in October of 2020, other than getting Whataburger, there was one thing on his mind, which was going back to work.

"November 3rd. I remember the day,” Zarkeshan recalled the exact day he returned to work. "I remember Chad Murtah, one of my friends from the department, he came and picked me up and we took a back-to-work picture. It was like first day back to school. It was just awesome. Going over there was like they had a party for me. It wasn't necessary but it made me feel special."

There's no doubt it has been a long road to recovery, and Zarkeshan faces battles everyday because of his brain injury. But he's thankful to be alive, and thankful for the people who have helped him along the way.

It has always been important to Zarkeshan to visit and thank the many men and women who cared for him in the hospital. Although he doesn't remember most of them, they remember him.

Zarkeshan's recovery took dozens of people watching over him 24 hours a day and each one of them played a crucial role.

“It is a multidisciplinary group of neurosurgeons, trauma surgeons, neurointensivists, nurses, therapists, all working together to give the care,” said Dr. Kalani. “This is really the highest acuity care you can get in northeastern Oklahoma, right here in these beds."

"Man, I am just happy to have been taken care of by this team, because I don't know if I would have been here if I wasn't,” said Zarkeshan.

Dr. Kalani said some people see a person with a traumatic brain injury and think the person should just be grateful to be alive. However, he said they can have much more than that; they can actually thrive.

"I am beyond thankful just to still be able to walk. I have made amazing friends throughout this. I consider you and I friends, Dr. Kalani and I are outstanding friends now,” said Zarkeshan. "You do get better. For me, I am still getting better."

Zarkeshan and Dr. Kalani have built a friendship over the years. "It brings warm spots to my face every time I see him and see how far he has come and what great improvement he has made,” said Dr. Kalani.

What's next for Zark? He said he is going back to school to get his Masters Degree in IT. We asked him why IT, and he said he’s just “always been techy."