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.

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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."