Grand Master Melon
28th July 2010, 03:38 PM
Officer David Salgado Was Accused Of Stealing Toys From Needy Children
SB 1070 Challenger Has Questionable Police Past, Pat McReynolds Reporter, KPHO, July 16, 2010
CHANDLER, Ariz.  Phoenix police officer David Salgado has often said he is fighting SB 1070 in court on moral grounds.
“I knew right then and there that I did the right thing,†Salgado said when he watched his attorney bring the first legal challenge to Arizona’s new immigration law.
But Salgado, the point man for the suit, has a moment in his police past that raises serious moral questions.
“It’s a name I will never forget till I die, and I thought wow, I can’t believe that guy is in the news,†said W. Steven Martin, founder of the W. Steven Martin Police Toy Drive, a charity in the Valley where officers bring toys to families that have very little of their own.
Back in 1997, David Salgado and his police officer brother, Rick, were accused of taking toys intended for needy children and instead giving them to their own extended families.
“It was unbelievable that somebody would put personal greed over a family they could make a difference with for a lifetime,†said Martin.
Rick Salgado lost his job over the incident, but according to CBS5 news archives, the police review board recommended David Salgado be suspended for 240 hours. CBS 5 News called officer Salgado to ask him about his past.
“I was not suspended for 240 hours. That’s a lie. Put it this way, if you do your research, you’ll find out,†said Salgado.
CBS 5 News talked to people familiar with the case, who said Salgado not only took toys, but he wrote down the name of a family known to be in dire need of help, and instead kept the toys for himself.
His personnel file shows no record of his discipline, but according to department policy, after ten years an officer is allowed to ask that his record be scrubbed clean.
“I believe in morals. Also too, I believe that we’re human beings and we all make mistakes,†Salgado said Friday.
“What happened 10, 15 years ago, doesn’t mean you can’t change, but it also means you should keep an eye on that person and always question, ‘why would they do that then’ and ‘what are they looking for now,’†said Martin.
In the 25 years of the W. Steven Martin Police Toy Drive, the Salgado brothers are the only officers accused of such a crime. The judge who heard Salgado’s challenge to SB 1070 has yet to make a ruling on it’s merit.
SB 1070 Challenger Has Questionable Police Past, Pat McReynolds Reporter, KPHO, July 16, 2010
CHANDLER, Ariz.  Phoenix police officer David Salgado has often said he is fighting SB 1070 in court on moral grounds.
“I knew right then and there that I did the right thing,†Salgado said when he watched his attorney bring the first legal challenge to Arizona’s new immigration law.
But Salgado, the point man for the suit, has a moment in his police past that raises serious moral questions.
“It’s a name I will never forget till I die, and I thought wow, I can’t believe that guy is in the news,†said W. Steven Martin, founder of the W. Steven Martin Police Toy Drive, a charity in the Valley where officers bring toys to families that have very little of their own.
Back in 1997, David Salgado and his police officer brother, Rick, were accused of taking toys intended for needy children and instead giving them to their own extended families.
“It was unbelievable that somebody would put personal greed over a family they could make a difference with for a lifetime,†said Martin.
Rick Salgado lost his job over the incident, but according to CBS5 news archives, the police review board recommended David Salgado be suspended for 240 hours. CBS 5 News called officer Salgado to ask him about his past.
“I was not suspended for 240 hours. That’s a lie. Put it this way, if you do your research, you’ll find out,†said Salgado.
CBS 5 News talked to people familiar with the case, who said Salgado not only took toys, but he wrote down the name of a family known to be in dire need of help, and instead kept the toys for himself.
His personnel file shows no record of his discipline, but according to department policy, after ten years an officer is allowed to ask that his record be scrubbed clean.
“I believe in morals. Also too, I believe that we’re human beings and we all make mistakes,†Salgado said Friday.
“What happened 10, 15 years ago, doesn’t mean you can’t change, but it also means you should keep an eye on that person and always question, ‘why would they do that then’ and ‘what are they looking for now,’†said Martin.
In the 25 years of the W. Steven Martin Police Toy Drive, the Salgado brothers are the only officers accused of such a crime. The judge who heard Salgado’s challenge to SB 1070 has yet to make a ruling on it’s merit.