A day which started like any other turned life-changing for one little girl and one police officer. Namely, Kingman Police Department lieutenant Brian Zach was asked to check on a child and what he stumbled upon broke his heart. The little girl he saw there, 4-year-old Kaila, was a subject of child abuse. Her caretaker caused her multiple injuries and it was obvious the girl had been neglected.
While he was waiting for the detectives to come and take the girl, Brian stayed by her side. She felt very comfortable with him and it looked like she had known him forever. Well, he was the person who saved her, and although she was very young, she somehow knew she could trust him.
Speaking to Good Morning America, Brian recalled the five hours he and Kaila spent together that day. They were coloring and watching Wreck-It Ralph, and she was holding his hand.
Once Kaila was taken to the hospital, Brian went home and told his wife and two children about Kaila. Somehow, they all felt that the girl belonged with them.
This Arizona police officer has given a little girl a forever home after meeting her while on duty. https://t.co/Uz3FDd18tz pic.twitter.com/MJNo6Mt8en
— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 2, 2020
Later, they learned that social services were unable to find a new home for Kaila at a short notice and they took it as a sign to welcome her in.
Brian recalled that when she arrived in their home, Kaila was wearing clothes that didn’t fir her any more. “Within the second day she was calling my wife ‘mom’ or ‘mommy.’ I was ‘guy’ for a week or two and then when she began preschool, she learned who dad was,” he told Good Morning America.
From someone who didn’t even know how to talk, Kaila turned into a vibrant and chatty little girl within a short period of time. “She’s happy and she’s flourished and when we got her she knew three words basically she grunted like a caveman, she didn’t know how to talk. And now she loves to talk,” Brian shared.
On August 18, 2020, the Zachs adopted Kaila at Mohave County Superior Court in Lake Havasu City. She officially became a part of the family.
Speaking to KTVK, Zach said, “I had a lot of child abuse cases and there’s always kids that I would bond with and I’d love to take them out of bad situations and just bring them home.”
Arizona police officer adopts girl he consoled while working on her case https://t.co/i8EzKEWaYt
— FOX13 Memphis (@FOX13Memphis) December 3, 2020
Brian and his wife Cierra are now planning on renewing their fostering license because they know there are a lot of other children like Kaila out there who need someone to love them and care for them. “I would definitely encourage people to do it because there’s so many kids who need guys even if it’s just for a small amount of time you can make such an impact,” Brian said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
For more on this lovely story check out the video below.