‘She’s breathing!’ Officer saves a choking baby in Orange

A heart-stopping moment was captured on a police body camera after an officer in Orange saved a chocking baby.

The Orange Police Department said it received a frantic call from a mother, who said her daughter wasn’t breathing, last Monday.

When Cpl. Greggory Cates responded to the Code 3 call and arrived at the caller’s home within minutes, he saw the mom crying while holding her 7-month-old daughter.

“When I got there, the mom was running out to the street because her baby was choking on a hairclip,” Cates said. “It was pretty intense, the situation.”

Cates took the baby and immediately began performing the Heimlich maneuver, delivering about six or seven back blows.

In the body cam footage, after Cates’ seventh blow, the baby can be heard crying as the parents let out a sigh of relief. Cates then comforted the baby, saying, “It’s OK.”

“It was a ‘Holy crap’ kind of moment,” he recalled. “It re-lives in my mind. Seeing the (body cam) video brings it back. I do tear up sometimes. It was a big moment.”

The corporal was honored for his actions Tuesday evening and reunited with the baby and her family. As the parents expressed their gratitude, Cates, a father of two young children, said he is grateful that he was able to help.”

“Recognition beyond what I deserve – I’m doing my job,” he said.

The baby and her family are doing great as there are no more hair clips around the house, the corporal said.