The pain is a lot deeper than what you could have ever imagined. After adjustments, if you continue to experience problems, please contact us. REPORTER: Dennis Murphy (KHOU-TV) Artist: Harris Milam. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. The arresting officers took him to a place dubbed 'the hole,' an area behind a warehouse along the Buffalo Bayou, and beat him before taking Torres to the city jail. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Oops! Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. info@texasarchive.org Testimony indicated that Oralando, who drove the patrol car in which Torres was transported, had encouraged Denson by "this would be a good time" to see if "the wetback" could swim. 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Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. Anyone can read what you share. His body would end up in the Buffalo Bayou, where it was found three days later. We can only hope that the next congressional delegation brings along Sessions so that he, too, can learn the story of Joe Campos Torres and Chief Caldwell. Looters struck the store during a riot that began at Moody Park. Phone 615-322-2927. Two observers watch as Margaret Torres throws a wreath into Buffalo Bayou in memory of her son, Joe Campos Torres. In San Antonio, a Road Map for the Future of Texas Art, A Users Guide to All the Banned Books in Texas, Author John Graves Was a Literary Godfather to Texas Monthly, The Best High School Basketball Team in Texas Doesnt Need a State Title, The Photo the Dallas Cowboys Never Wanted the Public to See, Wouldnt People Like Some Good News?: The Lasting Popularity of Texas Country Reporter. The state granted immunity for two others, Glenn Brinkmeyer and Lewis Kinney, in exchange for their testimony. According to the Houston Police Department, officers spotted a black Honda Accord that was reported stolen out of College Station at about 5:10 p.m. near Fairbanks North Houston and West Little York. Houstonians should take pride in knowing that a once-troubled department is now a model for the nation. The unidentified suspect was suspected of throwing a brick during the riot. Above is the abstract of the item that you're interested in viewing from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive's collection. October 7, 1977 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. Its possible.. The case became a national symbol of police brutality against Hispanics in the Southwest. 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. An all-white jury found them guilty of negligent homicidea misdemeanorand sentenced the officers. Unfortunately, Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III has made it clear he has no interest in putting federal pressure on local police departments that need reform. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Joe Campos Torres. Torres, an American citizen and a former serviceman, was wearing combat boots at the time of the fatal plunge. 512-485-3073 On May 5, 1977, Houston police arrested Jos Campos Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, at an East End bar for disorderly conduct. Members of Houstons Latino community described the light sentences as a slap in the face. On the first anniversary of Torress death, protests reached a fever pitch during a Cinco de Mayo celebration at Moody Park. Sometimes it's our sports teams, sometimes it's the happenings over at NASA, a breakthrough at the Medical Center or our atrocious weather that's in the headlines. Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. During the research process, Moravec found that the Chicano Squad posted a consistently higher clearance rate than other HPD units. Caldwell agreed, greenlighting a three-month-long pilot program in August of 1979 with five recruits who now made up the Chicano Squad: Cecil Mosqueda, Robert Gatewood, U.P. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. In 1978, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations at Moody Park erupted into riots. Prince Harry 'hated woke nonsense' and 'made jokes we are no longer allowed to make' before meeting Meghan, Charles felt he had to act as king rather than as a father: REBECCA ENGLISH reveals why Charles backed moves Don't just stick to the Malbec! 110 Twenty-first Avenue South, Suite 704 Nashville, TN 37203, USA. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Sam Buyajian 33, surveys the wreckage of his drive-in grocery at 3814 Fulton. According to Houston police, they got a call about a missing 3-year-old girl at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday. They were, however, later convicted of civil rights violations and served nine months in prison. He was on duty at the time of the murder and HPD discovered he. In their barrios, things werent much better. 3 EXPOLICE OFFICERS CONVICTED IN HOUSTON, https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/09/archives/3-expolice-officers-convicted-in-houston-found-guilty-in-civil.html. The violence May 7 left five police officers and two newsmen injured, and several stores in the area burned or looted. 1977 - Joe Campos Torres -- his death triggered an outcry from the Mexican-American community about police brutality in Houston. As the story goes, the 23-year-old was beaten so severely that authorities refused to accept him into the City Jail. Who Said It: Legendary Houston Comedian Bill Hicks or New El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks? Two of the officers who had beaten Torres, Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando, were charged with murder. When police attempted to make an arrest at a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park, attendees began throwing rocks and overturning police cars. Houston, and its police department, had to respond. The three foriner officers, Terry W. Denson, 27 years old, Stephen Orlando, 22, and Joseph J. Janish, 24, were convicted after a twoweek trial on two counts of violating the civil rights of. the Texanist, is a staff writer. Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, drowned . In 1977, Torres had been arrested at a Houston bar for disorderly conduct. Divers search the Buffalo Bayou site where Joe Campos Torres' body was found floating May 8, 1977. The apology to Torres' family was the first by any city official, and Finner promised to work with the family to build a monument in Torres' name. 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. 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. Houston Police Chief B. G. "Pappy" Bond holds a press conference in his office. Ruben Bonilla, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, termed the sentences a shocking, obnoxious misuse of Federal power and urged that Judge Sterling be impeached. Welcome! For years, [HPD] operated with impunity, he says. Houston's independent source of Articles about the drowning of Joe Campos Torres appeared in the Houston Chronicle on May 15, 1977. By Gloria Rubac posted on April 12, 2022. But the Chicano Squad moved mountains with the little resources they had. Houston. local news and culture, Olivia Flores Alvarez The US Department of Justice subsequently conducted its own investigation. To some of their fellow officers, it didnt matter whether they wore a badge or passed their exam, they were Mexicans first. His body was found days later. They were, however, later convicted of civil rights violations and served nine months in prison. 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. Torres' nephew, Richard Molina, said the family is in communication with the city to find a proper way to memorialize his uncle. The Houston Police Department first arrested Phillips's replacement, a Security Guard Services, Inc. employee named Robert Taylor. Reuben Bonilla of Corpus Christi, who heads the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in Texas, called the verdict "the most deplorable and unconscionable in recent memory," and said he fears Hispanic-American violence unless the Justic Department acts promptly to bring a federal case against the officers. The comments below have not been moderated. The group cleared forty homicides by the end of 1979 and later earned the recognition of the National Latino Peace Officers, in 1997, when they solved 91 percent of the cases theyd been assigned. As we said at the time: what difference is it going to make to have the cops speaking Spanish when they brutalize and murder someone? he asks on the podcast. When police attempted to make an arrest at a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park, attendees began throwing rocks and overturning police cars. If I didnt tell you that this story took place forty years ago, you might think it had just happened, Alonzo told me. Torres was allegedly beaten and then drowned by Houston police. Assistant District Attorney Ted Poe talks about coordination between the District Attorney's Office and the grand jury. New Higher Salaries! EXCLUSIVE: Lanzarote sticks to its guns and insists it WILL limit tourists and move away from relying on Jeremy Clarkson DENIES he has been sacked as Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? This is a carousel. Torres drowned after he had been arrested by Houston police officers for creating a disturbance in an East End bar. The officers then took Torres to the city jail, where jailers refused to process him due to his injuries. Chief Troy Finner issued the apology on Sunday to the family of Joe Campos Torres, a Mexican-American Vietnam War veteran, who was beaten to death and his body dumped in the Buffalo Bayou by Houston police officers in 1977. That the Chicano Squad posted a consistently higher clearance rate than other HPD units disturbance an. 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