Police Officer becomes Good Samaritan to a Pregnant Homeless Woman; His Inspirational Act of Love...
"I just felt God telling me, 'Tell her that you will do it because you can.'" -Officer Ryan Holets
(Albuquerque, NM) Police officers sometimes go above and beyond in the line of duty, and Officer Ryan Holets is no exception. (Screengrab: Officer Ryan Holets holds Hope/via CNN.com)
Holets went the ‘extra mile' during the investigation of a theft at a convenience store. According to a Fox News report, he walked behind the store and found there a woman about to shoot up with heroin—she told him she was "seven or eight months pregnant."
Officer Holets began talking with 35-year-old Crystal Champ, who reportedly lives in a tent near a New Mexico highway and has battled addictions for the better part of her life.
"You're going to kill your baby," Holets told her—the conversation recorded on his body cam.
Later on, in an interview with CNN, Officer Holets explained, "It's not every day I see a sight like that, it just made me really sad."
He added, "I got so tired of seeing so many situations that I want to help, but can't. But in that moment I realized I had a chance to help." (Screengrab: Crystal Champ/via CNN.com)
Crystal had wanted someone to adopt her baby, and Officer Holets stepped up.
"I just felt God telling me, 'Tell her that you will do it because you can,'" he said in the CNN interview.
According to the Fox News report, Holets—after speaking with Crystal—drove directly to his wife, who was "totally onboard" with his life-changing decision.
"He already knew my heart on the issue" she told CNN. The couple already had four children but had reportedly discussed adopting another possibly later on.
It was only three weeks later that Crystal gave birth and Officer Holets and his wife Rebecca became the adoptive parents of a little baby girl, "Hope." (Photo: Baby Hope/CNN.com)
Due to Crystal's drug use, Hope was born "addicted to opioids," a condition called neonatal abstinence syndrome, according to the Fox News report.
The couple says they will tell Hope about her adoption when the time is right, reports Yahoo News.
Crystal says, "I just want her to be safe and secure and be in a family and be loved and have a chance."
Watch the CNN video report here.