Police Officer Adopts Little Girl He Comforted During Child Abuse Check

By Darby Jones October 5, 2021

Four years ago, an Arizona police officer comforted a two-year-old girl covered in bruises during a welfare check — now, the officer and his wife are the girl’s adoptive parents.

Lt. Brian Zach with the Kingman Police Department in Arizona had a life-changing encounter four year ago while on duty — he was completing a welfare check for a child abuse case when he first met the then-two-year-old little girl, Kaila.

“She had a skull fracture, brain bleed and dislocated elbow,” Zach told CNN. “My heart felt for this little girl who was covered in bruises. She had a very strong spirit about her.”

This was not the first time Zach encountered a child in desperate need of help. “I had a 13-month-old die. That was hard. It is something that is emotionally scarring that I relive every time I talk about it,” Zach said. “Look, Kaila could be that little girl but God had a different plan.”

He comforted Kaila while waiting for social workers to arrive, and authorities remembered Zach’s kindness as they began searching for a foster family. “The question that changed our life forever was, ‘Would you actually consider being a placement home?’ And we immediately said, ‘Yes.'” Zach said.

Kaila was only meant to be with Zach, his wife and two kids for a short period of time, but that plan changed pretty quickly. “They said it would only be a couple weeks to a month until they could find a placement home for her. We played it week by week, month by month, court date by court date not knowing how long we would really have,” Zach said.

“If I stopped and thought about it, it would make me sick to my stomach not knowing what this girl’s future would be if she left,” he said, of thinking where Kaila would live long-term. “Having seen what happens when children are in the system … it made me worry a lot more.”

The family began creating memories with Kaila, taking her to Disneyland and Hawaii. Now, four years later, Zach and his wife are Kaia’s adoptive parents, and she has two loving older siblings, too.

Zach said the adoption process was not as “harsh or overburdened” as he thought, and he encourages others considering adoption to “just do it.”

Image sources: Good Morning America, CNN