A local police officer was in the right place at the right time last month — and a 9-month-old baby is alive because of it.

Preston police officer Jared Griffin received a life-saving award at last week’s Preston City Council meeting for pulling a choking infant back from the brink of death with quick thinking and training that kicked in at exactly the right moment.

The incident unfolded April 30 at the West Side school gym in Dayton, moments after Griffin had ended his shift and arrived to pick up his son. He immediately spotted a father desperately delivering back blows to his 9-month-old child, who was choking on pizza. The baby was turning blue.

The father saw Griffin in his police uniform and did what any desperate parent would do — he handed his child to the officer and hoped for a miracle.

Griffin, who’s been with Preston’s police force for two years, didn’t hesitate. He applied the Heimlich maneuver, dislodged the pizza and the baby started to cry and began breathing normally.

Preston Police Chief Dan McCammon presented Griffin with the life-saving award at last week’s City Council meeting.

“As law enforcement, we deal with a lot of issues and help people make life-changing choices, some of which we will never know,” McCammon said. “This is a different situation where we get to see firsthand the efforts of our officers. This is why the Police Department would like to recognize officer Griffin for his quick thinking and efforts to save a small child.”

McCammon said he has spoken with the infant’s parents and the baby is in good health. The parents, who asked that their child’s name not be released, are grateful Griffin happened to be there when it mattered most.

Griffin was just picking up his child from school. He ended up saving someone else’s.

And one local family will never forget it.