KALAMAZOO, MI — Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer Jason Gates said he knows some people are calling him a hero after he rescued a choking woman during a traffic stop Saturday, but it doesn't appear the attention has gone to his head.

"I'm sure this happens to police officers all the time, but rarely does this get caught on a dash cam," Gates humbly told a room of reporters during a press conference Tuesday at KDPS headquarters.

"I just feel like I did what I'm paid to do. I'm glad for her that I happened to be there."

Gates turned a routine traffic stop into a likely life-saving encounter when he stopped a vehicle for running a red light at 11:36 a.m. in the 4100 block of South Burdick St. As he approached her vehicle, Gates said he noticed the female driver was having difficulty breathing.

"For the first second or so I thought she might be trying to just get out of a ticket and then I realized she was in legitimate respiratory distress, so I tried to dislodge the item from her throat by just hitting her on the back," Gates said. "When that didn't work, I got her out and I used the Heimlich for the first time in my nine year police career and it worked."

Gates said he didn't intend to write the woman a ticket after she ran a red light at the intersection of Cork and Burdick streets, but still felt he needed to stop her to give a warning.

The driver was fortunate that he did.

Gates said it feels great that a traffic stop, which most view as an undesirable police encounter, resulted in such a positive outcome.

"Most of the times, traffic stops are a negative for people, but it's something we have to do," said Gates, who has been with KDPS for nearly three years. "It does keep people safe, not only in slowing people down and keeping traffic safe, but in rare instances like this."

Gates said he was surprised when the woman, who did not request further medical attention, embraced him while crying, thanking him for saving her life.

"I was not expecting that," he said of the hug. "She was relieved. I'm glad I was there for her."

The encounter seemed to be lengthy, Gates said, but in reality, the entire situation from the time he pulled the woman over to when she embraced him after he dislodged the sausage and biscuit from her throat took less than a minute. Gates said he was surprised how quickly it happened when he later watched the video recorded by his dash cam.

He said he has not heard from the woman since their encounter, but he wished her well.

She was not issued a ticket for the red light violation.

This was the first time Gates had encountered a medical situation during a traffic stop that required him to utilize his emergency medical services training all KDPS officers receive in addition to police and fire training.

"Even though I've never used it, I'm glad that I received that training and was able to use it successfully here," he said.

Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley said Gates' effort publicly highlights the numerous incidents in which his officers display professionalism, competence and a caring demeanor.

"While every incident doesn't result in saving someone's life, or make it in the news, they matter to the very people that are impacted by the service we provide," Hadley said in an email to the Gazette.

"We are certainly very proud of Officer Gates and thankful his quick thinking more than likely saved the woman's life."

Alex Mitchell covers county government and taxes for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Email him at amitche5@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.