Police Officer Adopts 4-Year-Old Girl He Bonded With While Working Her Case

The two-year-old had sustained serious injuries that were indicative of abuse. That evening, Brian's job was to comfort Kaila, resulting in a powerful bond that stuck with the father-of-two long after their time together was up.

"We colored, we snacked... She held my hand and she was just this cute little thing," Brian recalled to GMA. "Once detectives came, they picked her up and took her to the hospital."

“She was just the cutest little girl that immediately just tugged at my heart,” he explained to People. "I told my wife about this adorable little girl that I met and I just wanted to bring her home. In the past 15 years, if my wife had a dollar for every time that I said that, we'd be pretty rich.”

While Kaila was treated for her injuries, criminal charges were filed against her caretakers, and protective services began the search to find the little girl an immediate placement.

“When they remove [a child from a home], they want to place with family first,” he told People. “But if they can’t have family, they can go to a foster home. What they did in our case is they used our relationship from bonding that first night for what they call a fictive kinship.”

This term is used to describe an arrangement where the child is placed with close friends rather than blood relatives.

Within two days of staying with the Zach family, Kaila was already calling Cierra "mom" or "mommy" and calling Brian "Guy" for a week or two before learning the name "Dad" at pre-school.

"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," he told GMA. "Our goal was to love and care for this little girl for as long as it happened."

In a statement to GMA, Kingman Police Department's chief of police, Rusty Cooper, said that both Brian and his wife, Cierra, are "amazing parents."

"They are committed to the service of others and a cause that is greater than themselves," he continued. "We are proud of Brian and thankful that he and his family are part of the Kingman Police Department."

He told GMA his daughter loves preschool, animals, and dancing. One of her favorite pastimes is playing make-believe, like when she pretends she's taking "cruise vacations" in a cardboard box.

“She is the wittiest, most full of character little girl you’ll ever meet,” he told People. “She says the funniest, off-the-wall things. She’s definitely brightened up our world.”

h/t: Good Morning America, PEOPLE