Officer honored for adopting baby from opioid addicted mom

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A routine call about an Albuquerque convenience store theft turned into a life-transforming moment for an officer who came across upon a pregnant woman he found using heroin.

That officer later volunteered to adopt the unborn baby.

Officer Ryan Holets and his wife, Rebecca, were honored Monday for adopting the baby girl they named Hope after the addicted mom agreed to let the couple raise her child. The baby is now 6-weeks-old and is recovering after being born with an opioid addiction.

"We're blessed," Holets said.

City officials called the officer's act selfless, said it gave the infant a chance at a new life and attracted international attention in an era of a rampaging opioid epidemic.