When an Arizona police officer and father of two was responding to a call for suspected child abuse, he had no idea his life as he knew it would be forever changed. Upon entering the home, the cop was left shaken by the sight in front of him.

Her injuries were definitely abuse and it needed to be investigated. Zack arrived at the house and went inside. He found a little girl and immediately knew something was terribly wrong. Her name was Kayla, and she was just a toddler at the time. Sadly, the little girl was so badly hurt it was obvious she’d been abused. One of her eyes was swollen; she had dried blood in both her ears; she had different coloring of bruises all about her face. But she was still happy-go-lucky, a little two-year-old.

Making matters worse, this was the third time her abuse had been reported to authorities. Zack recognized her injuries and what they meant, and the abuse that she suffered in different stages. “So I know something wasn’t right. I took care of her, took her back to the station,” Zack recalled, adding, “We watched Wreck-It Ralph, and we just bonded.” The pair bonded so much in just five hours together, in fact, that Zack, although not knowing yet at the time, had found a little girl who would eventually become his daughter.

“I told my wife the story about this little girl that I just bonded with and would love to bring her home, but this wasn’t a first for the loving police officer. ‘In the past 15 years, I’ve said that many times to my wife of some kid that I met that I would love to bring home and love and take care of, so it was nothing new for her. 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 bring them home,’ Zack furthered.

So, this was nothing new. What was new, however, was the fact that this time it would happen: a little girl would find her forever home with a police officer and his family in Kingman, Arizona. However, it wouldn’t happen overnight. Instead, it would take two and a half years to make it official.

After a representative with the Arizona Department of Child Safety (ACDCS) took Kayla to the hospital for evaluation and treatment of her injuries, Zack went home, but he wasn’t able to forget about little Kayla. Wondering how the toddler was doing, Zack called ACDCS and asked if he could visit her in the hospital, got an update on Kayla, and found out that she was transported to Vegas and got a bed on her injuries and that she would be in Vegas for a little bit. So, I asked if I could be on the list to see her because I know in child abuse cases the policeman was granted permission.

And it didn’t take long before his family began talking about having Kayla stay with them. “So we had a family meeting, and I showed them a picture of Kayla and said, ‘This little girl may need to come to our house for some love and care for a little bit. We don’t know how long, but it could be a couple of weeks, a month or so, and we just want to provide our loving home,’ and everyone was on board.”

Since the agency couldn’t find any family members who were willing to care for the little girl, the DCS worker asked the question that changed their life: “Would you consider being placement for her?” “I met her Saturday night, and Wednesday night she was dropped off at our house.” Zack and his wife, Sierra, took her in, but it wasn’t an easy feat at all. In fact, there was a lot that went into giving Kayla the home she deserved.

“We had to get a bed, we had to get a high chair, potty chair. She came with a bag of clothes that didn’t fit her and a sippy cup, and that was it,” Zack recalled. According to Easy Family, for two and a half years, the Zacks cared for Kayla before officially adopting her in 2020 when she was four years old. “The court signs the order of adoption, congratulations! This weight was lifted because I knew that I didn’t have to worry about who was going to be taking care of her, who was going to be loving her.”

“The best thing to come out of 2020 is the fact that we gained an official member of our family,” a very happy Lieutenant Brian Zack declared. “That was my Christmas present,” he added. And he’s not the only one who’s thrilled with the way things turned out, as both Sierra and Kayla had some declarations of their own. “I would definitely encourage people to do it,” Sierra said, speaking of the fostering and adoption process. “Because there are so many kids who need guys, even if it’s just for a small amount of time, you can make such an impact.”

Following Kayla’s adoption, Brian and Sierra Zack said they’re planning to renew their foster license and help more kids. “I love her. I love her so much,” and who could blame her? After experiencing abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to love her, this child was finally granted the home and loving family she deserved, thanks to a police officer who went above and beyond the call of duty in a big way.

When they got her, she basically knew three words. She grunted like a caveman, didn’t know how to talk. Now she loves to talk, Zack admitted, thrilled to report that Kayla’s now happy and flourishing, which children tend to do in a safe and loving home. So, job well done, Officer Zack. Let’s hope this display of love and compassion sets an example for others to follow.