Police officers pool their money to replace hard-working gardener's stolen equipment
As the sole supporter of his family, gardener Adrian Salgado was in a bind when his truck, rent money, and equipment were stolen last week, leaving him without any way to work.
Police in Santa Ana, California, were able to find Salgado's truck thanks to the Find My iPhone app, but his equipment — a lawn mower, edger, leaf blower, and hand tools — was gone and the two suspects both claimed that the $500 in their pockets belonged to them. Officers felt terrible for Salgado, especially since the money had to be entered as evidence and he had no way of paying for replacement items.
Sgt. Michael Gonzalez told CNN the officers come from working-class backgrounds, and they saw their own fathers in Salgado. After Officer Lysette Murillo came up with the idea to raise money to replace Salgado's items, her colleagues pitched in $500, which was matched by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Thanks to a few more donations and special discounts, the officers were able to present Salgado with new equipment. Gonzalez said he was amazed when Salgado took everything out of its packaging and immediately went back to work, but that didn't surprise his daughter, who told officers her dad is smiling again now that he can take care of his customers. "I've been doing this job for 27 years," Gonzalez told CNN. "Every so often it's a good day. That was a good day."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Why would anyone look to the United States as a model?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Kristi Noem and the politics of puppy killing
Talking Point Revelations in Republican's upcoming memoir may have doomed her political career
By The Week UK Published
-
Death toll in Brazil flooding tops 100
Speed Read The record rainfall is linked to El Niño, which has been exacerbated by climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published