A New York City police detective made an unexpected save on his way to work earlier this week.

NYPD Detective First Grade Michael Greaney was driving to work in the office of Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny at approximately 8:45 a.m. when he spotted a black BMW speeding along the Bronx River Parkway, theNew York Postreports.

Greaney, 40, was driving in an unmarked vehicle and pulled over to survey the scene, the outlet reports. The driver, a father of a baby girl, told the detective, “My baby’s choking.”

In footage now going viral on

Greaney is seen reaching into the car and picking up the 8-month-old baby girl, who was wearing a pink onesie, and repeatedly banging on her back while holding her on the side of the road to stop her from choking.

The baby girl’s throat cleared, and a nurse who happened to be passing by assessed the little one to ensure she was in good health, according to the outlet.

“I followed the vehicle, turned my lights on,” Greaney, a father of two toddlers who joined the force in 2008, told thePost.“(The dad) rolled down his window and yelled, ‘My baby’s choking!’”

He added that he patted her back “until something dislodged.”

Greaney said he didn’t see or feel anything come out, but when he heard her cough, he knew the baby was safe.

“She let out a little cry, which obviously we know that If you’re talking or crying, you’re not choking. So that (was) a good sign,” he told the outlet.

“(There are) definitely all sorts of emotion, panic, shock, terrified and everything,” Greaney said, acknowledging his own worries as a father. “So I’m glad that I was able to relieve him of those emotions, and I’m happy that she’s gonna be here for Christmas.”

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After the father thanked him, Greaney said he told him to watch a video on how to perform the Heimlich maneuver so he could help his daughter in the future himself.

“I set her back into the car seat, and I took off,” Greaney said, adding that he was later shocked to learn the video had gone viral. “I told a couple people. I didn’t think it was gonna go like this, no way.”

“Detective Greaney’s split-second decision and calm under pressure truly embodies The Greatest Detectives in the World,” Detectives’ Endowment Association President Scott Munro said, per thePost. “His quick action didn’t just save a life — it reminded all of us what heroism looks like on the streets of this city.”

PEOPLE has reached out to the NYPD and the TikTok user who shared the footage for comment.