A Miami Beach officer went into "dad mode" when he found a 2-year-old girl wandering alone in a building on Ocean Drive while her parents were allegedly out partying.
Officer Brandon Miller, of the Miami Beach Police Department, comforted the toddler he found screaming and searching for her parents at around 3 a.m. on Sept. 10.
"The little girl was just in her pamper and swimsuit top, completely soaked when we found her," Miller said. "The person we received the call from actually works security across from the building and he said he could just hear her screaming, screaming, 'Mama, papa.'"
Police body camera footage released Tuesday showed Miller and other officers responding to the building where the girl was found.
"Where's mommy?" the officers ask the girl in the footage. "You're ok, we're here to help you, ok?"
At one point, Miller picks the girl up in his arms as officers begin searching the complex for the girl's family.
"You alright?" he asks before the girl gives him a high-five.
The parents, Daryl Lentz and Ciera Hurd, expressed deep remorse. They said their family was on vacation from Baltimore celebrating multiple birthdays.
Police said the couple was out clubbing and left the 2-year-old, as well as her 12, 11 and 5-year-old brothers alone, sleeping in the apartment they rented, for over four hours.
All four children were taken to the Department of Children and Families. The parents were arrested and then appeared in court, charged with child neglect though they insist they are good parents. They said the 12-year-old was supposed to be awake watching the younger three, calling this a horror story and a tragic mistake. "We've been doing a lot of crying, a lot of crying, every time we see pictures we cry.”
While police searched for her parents, Miller comforted the toddler. "I have a 2 and a 3-year-old at home and I guess I went into dad mode. I saw her, I thought about my son. I thought about my daughter," he said.