", 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." Abe Weiner, owner of the Leonard's Department Store in the same shopping center which suffered looting and smoke damage, said the store burned over an hour before firemen responded to the call for help. You have three options if you'd like to view this item: If you believe that you are associated with a sponsoring college or university and have received this message in error, please let us know. 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. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Joe Campos Torres. The Torres case prompted the Houston Police Department to create its Internal Affairs Division in 1977. Houston makes national news all the time. A third officer, J.J. Janish, was charged with misdemeanor assault. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. After adjustments, if you continue to experience problems, please contact us. 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. The victim, Joe Campos Torres, 23, allegedly was dumped off the 25-foot retaining wall into the bayou last Friday. Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, drowned . Host Alonzo, a self-proclaimed history nerd, often spent time in history classes in the Rio Grande Valley thumbing through her books trying to find important figures that looked like her. Vanderbilt Television News Archive Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. Consider it our city's version of the Ferguson protests. 'I am the chief of police, but I am a son of Houston, and what people need to understand is if you cannot see and feel 44 years of pain and suffering of this family, you're not human,' Finner said. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. When you look at the records of some of their arrests, youll find lacerated livers, fractured skulls, broken hands. In the wake of Torress death, frustrated residents of Houstons barrios staged rallies and protests around the city. The comments below have not been moderated. At the time, the department was enmeshed in a series of police brutality scandals covered by Texas Monthly in an article titled, " New Gang In Town: What Happens When Cops Run Wild?". 512-485-3073 One of the counts, involving a violation of Federal civil rights laws in which death results, is a felony, with the maximum sentence life in prison. Its possible.. David Courtney, a.k.a. The sentences that Judge Sterling imposed were each one year and one day, but they were set to run concurrently with separate oneyear sentences he imposed on the three men last year for a misdemeanor count of violating the victim's civil rights. Chief Bond comments on the function of the Civilian Review Board. Torres's body was found two days later. After a jail booking officer refused to accept Torres because of his injuries and ordered him taken to a hospital, the officers returned to the secluded spot, where one of them allegedly pushed him over a 17-foot embankment into the water after saying, "Let's see if this wetback can swim.". A gutted variety store at a shopping center in the 3100 block of Fulton. The state granted immunity for two others, Glenn Brinkmeyer and Lewis Kinney, in exchange for their testimony. "'You're not going to take him and do what you did to Joe Campos Torres.". 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. Torres' death and the light punishment the officers involved received would spark the infamous Moody Park riot one year later. View the profiles of people named Terry Denson. Janie Torres is the sister of Jose "Joe" Campos Torres, who on May 5, 1977 was beaten and thrown into Buffalo Bayou by Houston police officers. Following another beating, officers pushed Torres off a raised platform into Buffalo Bayou. Houston police take man into custody during Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. Sentencing offenders to perform humiliating tasks like shoveling manure, he became known as the "King of Shame." Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to 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. Houston firemen fight a blaze which was reportedly set by rioters in the 4400 block of Fulton. 'I will never be the same, my family will never be the same. 1977, Houston Police officer Terry Denson yelled, "Let's see if this wetback can swim!" Denson, along with five other white policemen (Louis Kinney, Glen Brinkmeyer, Joseph Janish, Stephen Orlando, and Carless Elliot) had arrested Torres after responding to a complaint of a drunken By the following morning, 28 demonstrators had been taken into custody. A Houston Chronicle reporter and photographer joined the Northeastern Trail Riders Association to document the highlights and challenges of life on the trail during the group's 108-mile journey to the 2023 Houston Letter from the editor: Introducing our exclusive new newsletter, Black trail riders head to Houston rodeo parade after grueling, joyful 6-day journey. 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. The violence May 7 left five police officers and two newsmen injured, and several stores in the area burned or looted. An all-white jury found them guilty of negligent homicidea misdemeanorand sentenced the officers. "All those cops, they just got a slap on the wrist, and you know what? Report: Houston is the No. "We never got justice," his sister Sandra Torres told the Houston Chronicle in 2011. How the Houston Zoo moved its flock of flamingos to a new home, Why the Texans should take Bijan Robinson with the No. 1977 - Joe Campos Torres -- his death triggered an outcry from the Mexican-American community about police brutality in Houston. One of them removed the handcuffs. Torres, an American citizen and a former serviceman, was wearing combat boots at the time of the fatal plunge. We want to let the people know what kind of person he was and what he meant to my family,' Molina said. 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. 1 most stressful city for U.S. workers, Houston leaders delay vote on Hobby Airport concesssions contract, Bun B on bringing Southern rap stars to Houston's Rodeo, Astros GM provides update on Yordan Alvarez's hand injury, KPRC 2 anchor Brandon Walker announces he is leaving network, Houston facing severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes Thursday, Witnesses reflect on LA's Rodney King riot 25 years later, A look at prominent figures in the Rodney King riots, Watch: Houston Astros' Luis Garcia debuts new windup, Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious on-air interview with reporter, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston-area pastor calls for state book ban, Houston is in for dust and gray skies as Texas haboob hits city, Former KHOU 11 anchor Lily Jang turns layoff into lucrative real estate career, Your essential and exhaustive guide to 2023 Houston rodeo food. Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. Of the six, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were charged with murder. The officers involved were found guilty of negligent homicide and ultimately given a year and a day in prison for civil rights violations. 1 of 2. The six arresting officers instead took him, once again, to The Hole. His body was found on May 8Mother's Day. They were able to gain the trust of victims and witnesses because they knew how Hispanic Houstonians really lived.. 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. When do the clocks change in 2023? His body would end up in the Buffalo Bayou, where it was found three days later. Chief Bond introduces possible disciplinary action against the offending officers through the civil service law, KPRC reporter Don Shelby speculates on the possibility of a second assault on Torres in between the time when officers brought him to the jail and when he ended up in the bayou. Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. After the Huntsville verdict was reached last fall, pressure from Texas political leaders, including Gov. Officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were indicted for murder on June 28. About 100 persons rallied Saturday in front of the Houston police station to protest the sentences two former officers received following the death of Joe Campos Torres. In 1977 Joe Campos Torres had been arrested at a Houston bar for disorderly conduct. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. Bond resigned months later after only serving a year. . Reporters interview Harris County District Attorney Carol Vance, Divers search the depths of Buffalo Bayou for Torres' wallet, Protests outside the Harris County Courthouse. 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. Federal prosecutors termed the verdict a compromise, noting that the defendants were not found guilty of additional charges that they had conspired to obstruct justice by withholding information about the incident from Federal investigators. Carless Elliott, the only rookie cop at the scene that night, later recalled in court the words of one of his fellow officers, the last words Torres must have heard before his body plunged into those dark waters: Lets see if this wetback can swim.. Divers search the Buffalo Bayou site where Joe Campos Torres' body was found floating May 8, 1977. More than 40 people were arrested during the riots, which became nationwide news and led to the creation of HPD's internal affairs department. Joining HPD was regarded almost as a betrayal. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Dolph Briscoe, prompted the Department of Justice to seek indictments against the former officers on charges of having violated Mr. Torres's civil rights. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. (Two activists, Travis Morales and Mara Youngdahl, were later fined a total of $9,000 on misdemeanor riot charges.). Instead, they brought him back to the Hole. In Chicano Squad, an eleven-episode podcast released in January by Vox Media, host and actress Cristela Alonzo follows Houstons attempts to grapple with the aftermath of Torress death, which included the creation of the first all-Latino homicide squad in the country. Updated: June 20, 2015. Houston police take man into custody during Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. Houstonians should take pride in knowing that a once-troubled department is now a model for the nation. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. 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. Decades before the recent police violence in Memphis, a brutally beaten Latino man was tossed by officers into a Houston bayou and drowned. In 2010, because HPDs increasingly diverse workforce now includes a higher number of Spanish-speaking officers, the group was disbanded. A new podcast explores the history of the Chicano Squad as part of a Houston police department effort to repair its broken relationship with the Latino community. The officers then took Torres to the city jail, where jailers refused to process him due to his injuries. But the Chicano Squad moved mountains with the little resources they had. the Texanist, is a staff writer. 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. 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. In the case of the burglary suspect, Garcia pointed out that a 14-year-old witness had disputed the officer's claim that the suspect had lunged at the officer. WHERE ARE THEY NOW:A look at prominent figures in the Rodney King riots, "What happened was when the police came in to arrest some people, and actually took somebody, people said 'No,'" then-rookie cop Harold Barthe told Houston Public Media in 2008. 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. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. On May 8, Mr. Torres's body was found floating in the bayou. The jury returned a probated sentence of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. The Killing of Jos Campos Torres. Defense attorney Bob Bennett and his client, Terry Denson, exit the courtroom to deliver comments to the press. The trials drew national attention, and HPDs newly minted internal affairs unit was overwhelmed with complaints. Note to sponsor members: The Vanderbilt Television News Archive video player requires a modern operating system and browser to work properly. 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. Past charges of brutality against Houston Police Department noted. 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