OKLAHOMA -- An Oklahoma police officer took his promise to protect and serve to heart, adopting a 10-year-old boy he rescued from horrifying conditions.
Officer Jody Thompson and his wife are celebrating the official adoption of young John and his baby sister.
Thompson first met the boy two years ago, when he rescued him from a home where he was being starved and abused.
After staying with him in the ICU, Thompson knew he never wanted to leave John again.
"When I seen him, when I seen him in that house, I knew," Thompson said.
He knew he wanted John to be a part of his family, and that's just what he did. The adoption took some time, but now, John is thriving, a straight-A student on the honor roll in the gifted and talented program.
"For what John went through, he went through a lot more than many adults have ever went through," Thompson said.
And more than that, when the Thompsons found out John's biological mother had a baby girl in prison, they adopted his newborn sister too.
"We picked her up at the hospital," Thompson said. "She was barely 24 hours old and we took her home."
It is a picture of hope and love, all because of a cop who does his job with his badge and his heart.