110 Twenty-first Avenue South, Suite 704 Nashville, TN 37203, USA. When you look at the records of some of their arrests, youll find lacerated livers, fractured skulls, broken hands. In the case of [Torres], theres racism, theres extreme brutality.. After their conviction in March of last year, Judge Sterling sentenced the three former officers, all of whom were dismissed by the Houston Police Department within hours of the discovery of Mr. Torres's body, to a year in prison on the misdemeanor charge. Vanderbilt Television News Archive Mr. Orlando and Mr, Denson were convicted last October of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, after a jury acquitted the two former police officers of the murder charge. Instead, they brought him back to the Hole. More often than not, they were the first Spanish-speaking officers the victims had come into contact with. info@texasarchive.org When the case was brought to federal court in February 1978, Denson, Orlando, and officer Joseph Janish were convicted of federal rights violations and were sentenced to one year in prison. The city was quickly growing into the murder capital of the United States as a slew of unsolved killings in Houstons barrios piled up. The jury heard four weeks of testimony alleging that six police officers had taken Joe Campos Torres, 23, a laborer, from a cheap cantina, where he was arrested for public drunkeness, to a secluded spot near a bayou, where five of them beat him severely while his arms were handcuffed behind his back. Moment fitness influencer asks man to move off park bench 'because he's 'ruining her livestream' - but Mortgage demand plummets to a 28-year low as average interest rates hit 6.71% - just as spring home buying Britain braces for brutal -9C Arctic snap: Met Office warns more snow and ice could lash the country next ISIS fanatic jailed over the gruesome beheading of two Scandinavian women hikers in Morocco that shocked the Shamima Begum and other British women who joined Islamic State and are being held in Syria will 'ultimately' Is YOUR wood burner at risk? And sometimes it's Houston murders. "Let's see if the wetback can swim." With those words, Officer. [Victim's mother Margaret TORRES - feels happy because she wanted justice and doesn't want this to happen again.] Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Killings, planted evidence and a federal discrimination lawsuit all provided the fuel that Torres' death set ablaze at an event known as the Moody Park Riot. Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. Jerry Click/ Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 35 of 56 Houston police officers administer first aid to Officer Tommy A. Britt, injured by a car that broke through a police line at Irvington . With those words, Officer Terry Denson tossed Joe Campos Torres into Buffalo Bayou. Austin, TX 78751, Grand Jury Investigation into the Death of Jos Campos Torres (1977). Jose "Joe" Campos Torres, shown in a photo held by his sister Janie Torres in 1998, was arrested after a 1977 Cinco de Mayo disturbance. Material supplied by VTNA may be used for educational analysis or research only. Sunday's formal apology comes after Finner and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner met privately with Torres' family over Memorial Day weekend, but wanted to make a public showingABC 13 reported. HPD is now hiring for our upcoming classes. REPORTER: Walter Cronkite, (Houston, Texas) Background of case involving alleged beating of Joe Campos Torres, which resulted in his drowning, by officers Terry Wayne Denson, Stephen Orlando and Joseph Janish given. Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston pastor calls for state book ban, Houston is in for dust and gray skies as Texas haboob arrives, Former KHOU anchor turns layoff into lucrative real estate career, The only Houston rodeo food guide you'll need, Report: Houston ranked No. Complaints against members of the Houston Police Department may be initiated in person to a supervisor at any police substation throughout the City of Houston, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. . This edited footage from Houston's KPRC-TV follows the grand jury investigation into the death of Jos Campos Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran. When police attempted to make an arrest at a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park, attendees began throwing rocks and overturning police cars. And though her mother instilled in her a love for the U.S., Alonzo was also aware that her identity as a Mexican American sometimes made her a target. On the night of May 5, 1977, Houston police officers arrested Jos Campos Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, at an East End bar for disorderly conduct. Though he served in that role for less than three years, Caldwell instituted key reforms that still exist today, such as HPD's first internal affairs department, HPD's first formal manual and the first liaisons to minority communities. 12 pick, Tips for bringing your dog or cat on a flight, West Texans share apocalyptic photos of after massive dust storm, This Houston rodeo food vendor wants you to eat his rattlesnake. There, the officers beat Torres, bruising and bloodying him to the point that when they finally drove him to the city jail, officials there wouldnt process him, telling the officers to take him to a nearby hospital. Welcome! 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Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. There, they brutally beat him for several hours. Chicano Squad members recognized at City Hall, Houston, 2019. six responding Houston Police Department officers, one year of probation and fined them each $1. [Houston United States attorney Tony CANALES - thinks justice served.] This has destroyed all of us. This was a test, and they had only a few months to prove themselves. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. "All those cops, they just got a slap on the wrist, and you know what? We want to let the people know what kind of person he was and what he meant to my family,' Molina said. However, Houston's police chief issued a statement saying that "the processes of justice have prevailed over demagoguery.". Nonetheless, Garcia said he is distressed by incidents, including the recent shooting deaths of a black police erroneously believed to be an armed robber and of a 16-year-old unarmed Mexican-American burglary suspect. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Houston police take man into custody during Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. Sam Buyajian 33, surveys the wreckage of his drive-in grocery at 3814 Fulton. Six police officers took Torres to a spot called "The Hole" next to Buffalo Bayou and beat him. Five of the officers were charged in the death, with two convicted of negligent homicide, and the other three convicted of violating Torres' civil rights. Houston police officers give first aid to officer Tommy A. Britt who was injured by a car that broke through a police line at Irvington and Fulton during a riot that began in nearby Moody Park. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. At least 22 persons were arrested at a city park after violence broke out in the chiefly Mexican-American neighborhood following a disturbance which led to vandalism and bottle throwing among the estimated mob of 1,500 persons. Updated: June 20, 2015. The case and its verdict outraged the local Mexican-American community, sparking protests outside the Harris County Courthouse and police headquarters. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Oops! His death and the light punishment the officers received would spark the infamous Moody Park Riot one year later. That sort of exchange previously would have been unimaginable. Consider it our city's version of the Ferguson protests. The three former officers are to be sentenced late next month. Divers search the Buffalo Bayou site where Joe Campos Torres' body was found floating May 8, 1977. By 1977, the year Torres was killed, HPD had hired just 161 Hispanic officers to serve a community with more than 200,000 Latino residents. Police officers seen outside emergency entrance of Memorial Hermann following the fatal shooting of an on-duty Houston Police Department officer Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Houston. ", State Rep. Ben Reyes of Houston, also a Mexican-American, called the verdict "pathetic" and "the worst miscarriage of justice that I've ever seen." But Glenn L. Brinkmeyer, 25, one of those given immunity and an officer in whose wedding Denson had served as a groomsman, testified that Denson had pushed Torres. (Studio) Report on conviction of 3 former Houston policemen accused of violating civil rights of Mex.-American who drowned while in their custody. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. He's gone. On June 28, a Harris County grand jury indicted two of the officers, Terry Denson and Steven Orlando, for murder and a third, J. J. Janisch, for misdemeanor assault. Instead of being taken to jail, police took Campos Torres to "The Hole," an isolated area behind a warehouse along Buffalo Bayou where Houston Police Department officers could write reports, question suspects and sleep. Their convictions were for criminally negligent homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor. The officers then took Torres to the city jail, where jailers refused to process him due to his injuries. Of the six, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were charged with murder. 3908 Avenue B, Suite 105 Houston, and its police department, had to respond. Torres subsequently drowned. Bond resigned months later after only serving a year. Historian Dwight David Watson, who is interviewed in Chicano Squad, wrote a book on twentieth-century HPD history in which he traces its ties to the Ku Klux Klan in the twenties and the years of racist incidents and attempts at reform that followed. 'Our ultimate goal is humanizing our uncle at this point. LOOKING BACK:Witnesses reflect on LA's Rodney King riot 25 years later. Houston's Chicano community found the fine especially hard to swallow, with chants of "A Chicano's life is only worth a dollar," reverberating through the neighborhood and throughout the country's Mexican-American communities. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. He said looters from the riot at Moody Park knocked out windows and forced the clerk to flee through the back of the store as the crowd looted. The judge gave the three suspended sentences of 10 years, plus five years probation, on the felony charge that resulted from Mr. Torres's death. Service station vandalized by riotersduring riot at Moody Park. The Government appealed, arguing that probation was not permissible in cases where the possible penalty was life in prison, as it is in Federal civil rights cases in which the victim has died. Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, drowned . Buffalo Bayou near Commerce St. Tuesday May 6, 2014. Robert Bennett, attorney for Mr. Denson, who had been specifically charged with pushing Mr. Torres into the water, said that he would argue against a prison sentence for his client. Houston Police lineup in riot gearin the 1978 Moody Park riots.. Houston Police in riot gearin the 1978 Moody Park riots.. Houston police make arrests in the 1978 Moody Park riots. The US Department of Justice subsequently conducted its own investigation. Films shown; previous state trial of 2 officers and demands of local Mex.-Americans for Justice Department probe noted. Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. And as Mosqueda recalls, many non-Latino officers were happy to throw around the word wetbackthe same pejorative hurled at Torres before his death. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Poe served as a chief felony prosecutor for eight years before being appointed a state district judge in 1981. When do the clocks change in 2023? Houston's independent source of We can change these systems. Holland, 80, previously was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Torres's body was found two days later. Carrying picket signs reading "Protection not police brutality" and "Stop the war against Chicano people," the demonstrators were protesting the police-involved death of Jos Campos Torres. His body was found by a boater three days later. A year later and still feeling as though justice had not been served, members of Houstons Hispanic community rose up in a post Cinco de Mayo riot at the citys Moody Park. Adrian Garcia, former HPD officer and current Harris County commissioner, said some of his friends stopped talking to him when he joined the force, calling him a sellout. Facebook gives people the power to. Two former Houston policemen on trial for beating and drowning a Mexican-American prisoner in their custody last May were convicted by a jury today of misdemeanor charges that will cost each no more than a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Homicide, a misdemeanor, and they had only a few months to prove themselves,... 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