Police officer adopts little girl he befriended while rescuing her from an abusive household

Arizona police officer Brian Zach was working as a patrol sergeant in March 2018 when he and his officers got a call to check a two-year-old's house. Little did he know that the call would prove life-changing for him and his family. Upon arrival at the house, he was quite taken by the little girl named Kaila who is a survivor of abuse. In the five hours they waited for DCS to show up that night, Zach and Kaila formed a special bond that had a lasting impact on him. "We colored. We watched Wreck-It Ralph. She loved Wreck-It Ralph," he told CBS5.

"We colored, we snacked... she held my hand and she was just this cute little thing," Zach, lieutenant of the Kingman Police Department, told Good Morning America. "Once detectives came, they picked her up and took her to the hospital." He went home after spending hours with Kaila and told his wife Cierra that he wanted the child to come live with them. She vividly remembers how Zach, who is a father to two other children, gushed about the little girl upon returning home that night. "He shows up, he's like, 'I got to hang out with the cutest little girl. She was so awesome,'" she recalled. 

Meanwhile, Kaila was being treated for multiple injuries as a result of physical abuse. Zach revealed that criminal charges were filed against Kaila's caretakers. When child protective services couldn't find any family members willing to care for the child, he and Cierra volunteered to take her in. "She came with a sippy cup, a bag of clothes that didn't fit her and that was it," Zach said. "We had to get a bed. We had to get a high chair, potty chair."

Kaila immediately became part of the family, he revealed. "Within the second day she was calling my wife 'mom' or 'mommy,'" Zach added. "I was 'guy' for a week or two and then when she started preschool she learned who dad was." 30 months after she came into their care, the Zachs officially adopted Kaila at Mohave County Superior Court in Lake Havasu City on August 18. "We lived each week not knowing if she was going to go back to her biological parents, or how long we were going to keep her," Zach said. "Our goal was to love and care for this little girl for as long as it happened."

"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," he added. "Lt. Brian Zach’s commitment to public safety is exemplified in his commitment and love for Kaila. Both Brian and his wife Cierra are amazing parents," said Kingman Police Department's chief of police Rusty Cooper. "They are committed to the service of others and a cause that is greater than themselves. We are proud of Brian and thankful that he and his family are part of the Kingman Police Department."

"Most foster parents say that it's one of the most rewarding things that they can do with their life," said Katie Hernandez, who works at Arizona's Children Association — the agency that helped the Zachs through the adoption process. The Zachs revealed that they are planning to renew their foster license and help more kids. "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," said Cierra. Kaila enjoys preschool, animals, dancing, and make-believe play when going on "cruises vacations" in her cardboard box," explained Zach. "She is so comical, she is so witty. She's just a character."