A Suffolk police officer says his award nomination for saving a woman’s life in a near-choking feels “pretty good.”

After responding to a call on Jan. 4, Officer William Bradshaw, 32, discovered a 38-year-old woman unresponsive and not breathing in the 100 block of Hamer Road, acoording to a city news release.

The woman had “been in conflict with family members, and in the course of the disturbance, had fallen to the ground and stopped breathing.”

Upon arriving at the scene, Bradshaw recalled on Monday, he was “really just trying evaluate the scene (and) take in what (I) was actually seeing, as opposed to what the family members” were telling him.

Bradshaw’s initial mouth sweep came up with nothing. He started rescue breathing, and the woman gasped for air. His second round of sweeps resulted in the recovery of “several large pieces of chewing gum” that had blocked the woman’s airway.

Gum removed, the woman began breathing on her own. EMS personnel arrived and took over, and the woman was transported to Sentara Obici Hospital, where she was treated for non-life threatening symptoms.

In the news release, Suffolk Police Chief Thomas Bennett said he was proud of Bradshaw for his “quick thinking and his ability to effectively apply the training he was provided.”

Bradshaw also pointed to his training in CPR procedures, saying, “I would have (had) no idea what to do if it wasn’t for training.”

Bradshaw said he started with Suffolk Police Department, his first law enforcement position, eight ago after graduating with a criminal justice degree from Radford University.

He grew up in the Riverview neighborhood, attended Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, and is married with no children.

Bradshaw said his wife has “been sending emails to her side of the family,” telling them about his Suffolk Police Department Life Saving Award nomination.

“It feels pretty good,” he said. “It’s the first one I have ever been nominated for. All my command’s staff, they have all had positive things to say, whether (by) email or in person.”

Bradshaw said he’s one of five police officers in his family.

“I just enjoy what I do,” he said. “You are not sitting at a desk all day. There’s no one standing over your shoulder.”