Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. Officers Terry Denson (left) and Stephen Orlando (right) were the only two officers convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, in the death of Torres, and each was fined $1 and given. 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.. All six officers were found guilty of violating Torres' civil rights, and given a ten-year suspended sentence. During the research process, Moravec found that the Chicano Squad posted a consistently higher clearance rate than other HPD units. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Instead, they brought him back to the Hole. 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 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. Decades before the recent police violence in Memphis, a brutally beaten Latino man was tossed by officers into a Houston bayou and drowned. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. 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. 6:00AM, Kinetic Celebrates Womens History Month with a World Premiere, What Your Favorite Mainline Final Fantasy Game Says About You. The US Department of Justice subsequently conducted its own investigation. The sergeant said he told the officers to take the prisoner to a nearby hospital; instead, they took Mr. Torres back to the 16foot embankment overlooking Buffalo Bayou near downtown Housotn, where they had beaten him. Articles about the drowning of Joe Campos Torres appeared in the Houston Chronicle on May 15, 1977. Welcome! He was on duty at the time of the murder and HPD discovered he. We can change these systems. Officers Terry Denson (left) and Stephen Orlando (right) were the only two officers convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, in the death of Torres, and each was fined $1 and given probation. Two of their fellow officers were given immunity from prosecution in return for their testimony in state court against the pair; one other officer faces related misdemeanor charges, and one, a rookie who reported the incident to superiors, remains on the 2,900-member Houston police force. Houston, and its police department, had to respond. Joining HPD was regarded almost as a betrayal. (Two activists, Travis Morales and Mara Youngdahl, were later fined a total of $9,000 on misdemeanor riot charges.). 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. 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. The summer of 1979, detective sergeant Jim Montero floated an idea past HPD chief Harry Caldwell: if he got permission to recruit a small group of Spanish-speaking patrol officers, he could train them to serve as translators in the field, helping the department to close the growing number of unsolved crimes in Houstons barrios. Any time in the penitentiary would be unacceptable, Mr. Bennett said, adding that Mr. Denson was an outstanding public servant to this community.. Surviving members of Torres' family also spoke on Sunday. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. 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 judge received dismissed the case without explanation. Films shown; previous state trial of 2 officers and demands of local Mex.-Americans for Justice Department probe noted. In their barrios, things werent much better. 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 views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. 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. A group of Houston police cadets gathered Friday morning to hear family members of Joe Campos Torres speak of their loved one's death by officers in 1977. . Six police officers took Torres to a spot called "The Hole" next to Buffalo Bayou and beat him. Mr. Torres was arrested May 5 at Houston tavern on charges of disturbing the peace. The girl's parents told the police they went to sleep at about 11 p.m. Saturday, and when . 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. 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. 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. His body was found days later. Rather than transport him to jail for booking, the six responding officers first took Torres to "The Hole," an isolated area behind a warehouse along Buffalo Bayou. In 1978, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations at Moody Park erupted into riots. Instead, the officers returned to The Hole, where they continued to beat Torres. 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. The people would open their hearts towards us because we were able to communicate with them, Mosqueda says in the podcast. Six police officers took Torres to a spot called "The Hole" next to Buffalo Bayou and beat him. In the case of [Torres], theres racism, theres extreme brutality.. October 18, 2016 Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. And as Mosqueda recalls, many non-Latino officers were happy to throw around the word wetbackthe same pejorative hurled at Torres before his death. Torres's body was found two days later. Torres, an American citizen and a former serviceman, was wearing combat boots at the time of the fatal plunge. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Here are four Houston murders that made news and, in three cases, changed the justice system. HPD is now hiring for our upcoming classes. 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. It's never had its own day, but is definitely something that should be remembered, a lesson of Houston history and among Mexican-Americans. ', Torres' sister Janie said she was 10 at the time of her brother's death and that her family was never the same. Five months after Torress murder, an all-white jury found Denson and Orlando guilty of negligent homicidea misdemeanor. Two additional officers at the scene, Glenn Brinkmeyer and Lewis Kinney, were suspended from duty but granted immunity by the state in exchange for their testimony. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. HOUSTON, Feb. 8 Three former Houston police officers were found guilty in Federal District Court here today of beating a MeicanAmerican prisoner last May and then pushing him into a downtown bayou, where he drowned. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. His body would end up in the Buffalo Bayou, where it was found three days later. Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. The Houston Police Department Chicano Squad, founded in 1979 after the killing of Jose Campos Torres. 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Can Alperen Sengun become a passable defender for the Rockets? Join Facebook to connect with Terry Denson and others you may know. In 2010, because HPDs increasingly diverse workforce now includes a higher number of Spanish-speaking officers, the group was disbanded. The location is just off the 1200 block of Commerce. Report: Houston is the No. Anyone can read what you share. Bond resigned months later after only serving a year. In 1977, Torres had been arrested at a Houston bar for disorderly conduct. Many segments are silent and would have been voiced over by the anchorperson during a live broadcast. 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. HOUSTON, Oct. 30 Federal District Judge Ross N. Sterling, acting under orders from a Federal appeals court to impose prison terms on three former Houston police officers he had sentenced to probation for their roles in the death of a young MexicanAmerican man, today handed the three what amounted to an extra day in orison. Two days after Torres was arrested, his mangled body was found floating in Buffalo Bayou. When you look at the records of some of their arrests, youll find lacerated livers, fractured skulls, broken hands. Torres drowned after he had been arrested by Houston police officers for creating a disturbance in an East End bar. 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