Author wants to inspire adoptions

• Reprints

The cover of Gary resident Lee West's book "Officer ... Why Don't You Adopt Him?"

Updated: January 25, 2012 4:46PM

A year ago I received a call from retired Chicago police officer and Gary resident Lepolia “Lee” West, who informed me he was working on a book on his life and a decision he made in his early years on the force.

“Officer … Why Don’t You Adopt Him?” is the story of West adopting an abandoned baby boy after encountering the infant in the emergency room at Jackson Park Hospital on the south side of Chicago.

The book’s title comes from the hospital’s chief pediatrician, who caught sight of West holding and feeding the baby and said, “Officer West, you look good holding that baby. Why don’t you adopt him?”

The book, available as an e-book and paperback, follows the events and challenges that West faced in adopting the infant, who was found in an apartment unit after someone heard the baby crying.

This is not the first time West’s story has been told: Ebony, JET, The Wall Street Journal, Redbook and the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times wrote articles between 1968 and 1971 on West, who said he was the first bachelor to adopt a baby in Chicago.

West’s story caught the attention of Chicago native and actress Ann Jillian, who in 1981 contacted Hollywood producer Joyce Selznick about developing the story into a feature film or television series. Unfortunately the producer died before the production’s fruition.

West, a native of Lake Providence, La., came to Gary at the age of 4 and attended Roosevelt High School until his senior year in 1958, when he quit school to help his mother after his father’s death.

He eventually enlisted in the Army, serving six years in Germany as a paratrooper. After he completed his service, West returned to Gary and at a friend’s suggestion, applied to be an officer for the Chicago Police Department. After academy training West became a Chicago police officer, patrolling the third district on the south side.

West said his son is now 43 years old and is a Chicago police officer.

“I wrote this book to inspire and encourage people to consider adoption. We have so many abandoned and neglected children and it is our responsibility to care for children,” West said. “If we don’t assume responsibility for our children, our society will be affected by their neglect.”