Arizona Illegal-Immigrant Law Has First Challenger...

...A Dirty Cop

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Phoenix police Officer David Salgado has often said he is fighting Senate Bill 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 past that raises questions about his morality.

"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 in which officers bring toys to families that have very little of their own.

In 1997, David Salgado and his brother, Rick, who is also a police officer, were accused of taking toys intended for needy children and 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," Martin said.

Rick Salgado lost his job over the incident, but according to CBS 5 News archives, the police review board recommended David Salgado be suspended for 240 hours.

CBS 5 News called David Salgado to ask him about the incident.

"I was not suspended for 240 hours. That’s a lie. Put it this way: If you do your research, you’ll find out," Salgado said.CBS 5 News spoke with 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 10 years an officer is allowed to ask that his record be scrubbed clean.

"I believe in morals. Also, 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?'" Martin said.

In the 25 years of the W. Steven Martin Police Toy Drive, the Salgado brothers are the only officers accused of taking toys.

Sort of makes me proud that THIS is the sort of scumbag we are fighting against. A man is known more for his enemies than his friends, so we all are doing just fine thank you very much.