CU police honored three students with the “Lifesaving Award,” the highest possible honor the department can present to the public, on Wednesday in the Kittredge Central Multipurpose Room.

In August, the students — Justin Rouleau, a cook in the Center for Community dining hall; Nathaniel Pohl, a residential advisor in Aden Hall; and Daniel Kotsides, a Community Safety Officer — helped 80-year-old Willard Cooperstock when the man began choking in the C4C. They performed the Heimlich maneuver, used CPR and a defibrillator to help Cooperstock breathe on his own again.

Cooperstock was unable to attend the ceremony, but his son, a music professor at CU, expressed his gratitude to the three students in a letter.

Interactive photo with audio recounts of the day:

Photos from the ceremony:

Contact CU Independent Visuals Editor Kai Casey at Kai.casey@colorado.edu