A North Las Vegas police officer felt compelled to answer a call in January and ended up welcoming five children into his home.
Nicholas Quintana was having lunch on Jan. 14 when he heard a call come over the radio about a homicide case. A sudden urge came over him, telling him to respond.
He arrived at the scene on Osaka Pearl Street, where a woman was being arrested for allegedly shooting her husband. The responding officers were shocked to find the couple’s five children were inside the house.
The situation saddened Quintana, who knew the kids would end up at Child Haven. It brought up familiar feelings for him; a family member murdered his father when he was a kid. That’s when he got the idea to foster the children, an idea he went home and told his wife about.
“Understandably so, she was absolutely reluctant towards it,” Quintana told KVVU-TV. “I was like, ‘Well listen, hun, just meet the kids, just meet them, because you might just fall in love with these kids. Just meet them.'”
Three days later, the couple drove to Child Haven to meet with the children. Two days after they all met, the seven of them went home together.
“I look at the kids, and I say, ‘Hey, look, the reason why we’re here is because I had a thought. I’d like to take every single one of you. I’d like to take you in our home,'” he said. “And the 16-year-old gasped for a sec and said, ‘Really?’ and I said, ‘Yeah,’ and of course, the oldest one says, ‘All of us?’ and I said, ‘Every single one of you.”
Quintana told the outlet that he’s always wanted to be a father. After losing his father, having a father figure was something he always wanted.
He said the last month had been an adjustment, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world. The Quintanas are now in the process of getting licensed as foster parents so they can receive financial help. In the meantime, they have been paying for everything out of pocket. A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money for the family.
“It’s very humbling. It’s amazing. There’s just so many different emotions and so many different things, adjectives to describe it all,” Quintana said of the experience.
