By Jeff Proctor
The Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Another Albuquerque firefighter has ended up on the wrong side of the law, this time for allegedly assaulting a Pojoaque Pueblo police officer at the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, court records show.
Lt. Martin Salazar, 37, is the fifth member of AFD to be arrested since Dec. 1, officials said.
Two tribal officers who had gone to the casino to investigate a different incident Saturday evening used a Taser on Salazar and wrestled him to the floor after Salazar raised a full beer bottle over his head and threatened the officers, according to a police report.
Salazar called Albuquerque Fire Chief James Breen, who has known the Ladder 13 lieutenant since he joined the department in 2000, to say he had been arrested.
“He called me about 10 a.m. Sunday from the Santa Fe County jail,” Breen said in an interview Monday. “I am very disappointed and very surprised. We consider these to be serious charges.”
Salazar is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting or evading a police officer, the police report states. He was being held at the Santa Fe County Detention Center without bond as of late Monday.
Breen said Salazar will be assigned to administrative duties with the city’s animal services division when he gets out of jail, and AFD will conduct an internal investigation.
Salazar was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer in Albuquerque in 1995, but the case was dismissed on the recommendation of the arresting officer and prosecutors, court records show.
Salazar also has been arrested twice on suspicion of drunken driving, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to a first-offense DWI charge in 1991. Three years later, in 1994, a DWI charge against him was dismissed.
Breen said Salazar’s arrest record will be a factor when AFD officials decide whether he will keep his job, even though the charges all preceded Salazar’s time at the department.
Since being appointed chief in December, Breen has held training courses on AFD’s policy regarding firefighters who get arrested. He is working on a chief’s directive aimed at clearly spelling out the consequences for arrests.
“We’re walking the road toward zero tolerance, especially for DWI,” the chief said.
Copyright 2010 Albuquerque Journal