A police officer has gone above and beyond the call of duty and has adopted an opioid-addicted mother’s newborn baby.
Ryan Holets was patrolling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 23 when he responded to a call about a possible theft at a nearby convenience store, reported CNN.
Behind the store, he found Crystal Champ, 35, and her partner Tom Key shooting up heroin. As Holets began to approach them, he noticed the woman was heavily pregnant.
Police officer Ryan Holets has gone above and beyond the call of duty and has adopted an opioid-addicted mother’s newborn baby (pictured together)
Holets (pictured, with his new baby) was patrolling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 23 when he responded to a call about a possible theft at a nearby convenience store
Behind the store, he found Crystal Champ, 35 (pictured), and her partner Tom Key shooting up heroin. As Holets began to approach them, he noticed the woman was heavily pregnant
Champ, 35, became agitated as Holets began to scold her. She told the officer that she was seven to eight months pregnant and an addict.
‘You’re going to kill your baby,’ Holets is heard saying on the bodycam footage. ‘Why do you have to be doing that stuff? It’s going to ruin your baby.’
In the video, Champ is seen breaking down in tears after hearing this. She told CNN that she reacted to the officer’s words so strongly because, although she’s pro-choice, the idea of having an abortion was never an option for her.
After about 11 minutes of conversation, Champ, who has battled addiction for years and currently lives in a tent in Albuquerque, told Holets that she had hoped someone would adopt her baby.
Champ, 35, became agitated as Holets began to scold her. She told the officer that she was seven to eight months pregnant and an addict (Pictured, Champ and Key in the body cam footage)
Champ is seen breaking down in tears after hearing Holets tell her addiction will kill her baby. She told the officer she hoped someone would adopt the baby (Pictured, Champ and Key in the body cam footage)
Holets showed Champ a picture of his wife and their four children, including a 10-month old baby, and offered to adopt her own baby into his family (Pictured, Champ and Key in the body cam footage)
Champ says the words triggered a change in the officer’s demeanor.
‘He became a human being instead of a police officer,’ she said.
Holets showed Champ a picture of his wife and their four children, including a 10-month old baby, and offered to adopt her own baby into his family
His wife, Rebecca, said she was immediately on board with the idea despite already taking care of an infant.
‘We feel God has called us to do that,’ she said. ‘It’s been on our hearts for a while.’
On October 12, Champ gave birth to a baby girl and the Holets family named her Hope.
Hope is one of a number of babies born addicted to opioids – a condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS.
According to a CDC report released in 2016, the incidence of NAS had jumped up from 1.5 per 1,000 hospital births in 1999 to six per 1,000 births in 2013, more than triple.
On October 12, Champ gave birth to a baby girl and the Holets family named her Hope (pictured). Hope is one of a number of babies born addicted to opioids – condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS
The Holets say Hope (pictured) had to suffer through detoxing and withdrawals and even endured methadone treatment. She is now home and goes to the hospital for weekly medical checkups
Champ (pictured) says she hopes when Hope is older that she’ll realize that her birth parents loved her but couldn’t provide for her
Rebecca and Ryan Holets say that they will eventually tell Hope where she came from and hope that her birth parents can have a place in her life (Pictured, Ryan and Hope)
Babies usually need several weeks of medical treatment, which can include morphine and methadone, to help the newborn detox.
The Holetses say Hope had to suffer through detoxing and withdrawals and even endured methadone treatment. She is now home and goes to the hospital for weekly medical checkups.
Champ says she hopes when Hope will realize when she’s older that her birth parents loved her but couldn’t provide for her.
‘She needs to have a safe environment and a stable life and be able to grow and be nurtured and be safe and secure and all of these things I can’t give her right now,’ said Champ.
‘There needs to be more people like Ryan and his wife and their family in this world.’
Rebecca says she and her husband will eventually tell Hope where she came from and hope that her birth parents can have a place in her life.
‘Whatever struggles she has, we’ll be there and we’ll work through it,’ said Ryan Holets. ‘And that makes me happy.’