Note to sponsor members: The Vanderbilt Television News Archive video player requires a modern operating system and browser to work properly. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. 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. The state granted immunity for two others, Glenn Brinkmeyer and Lewis Kinney, in exchange for their testimony. In 2010, because HPDs increasingly diverse workforce now includes a higher number of Spanish-speaking officers, the group was disbanded. [Victim's mother Margaret TORRES - feels happy because she wanted justice and doesn't want this to happen again.] This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. View Terry Denson results in Texas (TX) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. 1977 - Joe Campos Torres -- his death triggered an outcry from the Mexican-American community about police brutality in Houston. Of the six, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were charged with murder. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Oops! "People rose-up and started throwing rocks and bottles at the police, overturning police cars and shouting 'Justice for Joe Torres' and 'Viva Joe Torres,'" Barthe said. On May 8, Mr. Torres's body was found floating in the bayou. Who Said It: Legendary Houston Comedian Bill Hicks or New El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks? The killing of Torres - a Hispanic veteran arrested at an East End bar - was the spark that set off a series of protests, firings and reforms that eventually transformed the Houston Police Department into the modern crime-fighting institution that we know today. And those who chronicled the attack said the executioner was. 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. 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. Poe served as a chief felony prosecutor for eight years before being appointed a state district judge in 1981. info@texasarchive.org On an overcast evening in early May 1977, 23-year-old Vietnam War veteran Jose Campos Torres was in handcuffs for drunk and disorderly conduct at a cantina in Houstons East End. HPD offers a rewarding career, exceptional benefits and a competitive salary. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 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. All six officers were found guilty of violating Torres' civil rights, and given a ten-year suspended sentence. 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. Garcia said there had been progress in that Chief Harry Caldwell has required officers to register the extra weapons they carry with them, has banned the use of "long rifles" such as deer rifles, and has forbidden officers to shoot at fleeing suspects who aren't threatening their safety or that of others. They were able to gain the trust of victims and witnesses because they knew how Hispanic Houstonians really lived.. 'My mother was never the same after Jose was killed,' his sister Janie Torres, who was 10 at the time her brother's death, said. In interviews with members of the Chicano Squad, the podcast shines a light on its predicament. Torres's body was found two days later. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Slowly, the Chicano Squad earned back the trust that HPD had lost. See the article in its original context from. Updated: June 20, 2015. Leave them blank to get signed up. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. But the Chicano Squad moved mountains with the little resources they had. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. 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. REPORTER: Dennis Murphy (KHOU-TV) Artist: Harris Milam. His body would end up in the Buffalo Bayou, where it was found three days later. 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. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools. On April 3, a plaza, a monument, a huge portrait, and a walking trail were all unveiled and dedicated to remembering a man brutally murdered by Houston police almost 45 years ago. Divers were hoping to find a wallet belonging to Torres. The case, in which the officers could have received sentences of life in prison, has been the focus of many charges of police brutality against Hispanic citizens. The Houston Police Department Chicano Squad, founded in 1979 after the killing of Jose Campos Torres. An all-white jury found them guilty of negligent homicidea misdemeanorand sentenced the officers to a year's probation and a $1 fine. Facebook gives people the power to. Houston firemen put out fire of burning car flipped during a riot that began in nearby Moody Park. By the time Torres arrived at the jail, authorities refused to book him due to the extent of his injuries. If you are experiencing playback problems, check the minimum requirements and adjust your setup accordingly. He said it demonstrated once again that there is "a dual standard of justice" in Texas, adding, "Our only redress in the federal courts.". However, Houston's police chief issued a statement saying that "the processes of justice have prevailed over demagoguery.". 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. Following another beating, Campos Torres was pushed off the raised platform and fell 20 feet into the Bayou, where his body was found three days later. On the night of May 5, 1977, Houston police officers arrested Torres at an East End bar for disorderly conduct. Here are four Houston murders that made news and, in three cases, changed the justice system. The 14-year-old was cowering against the wall when he was shot. local news and culture, Olivia Flores Alvarez It is the headquarters for the Texas prison system. Houston, and its police department, had to respond. Officer Terry Denson came up with the idea: "Let's see if the wetback can swim," he said. Its not uncommon for the stories of Latinos to be minimized or excluded entirely from Texas history books. 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. 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. . Join Facebook to connect with Terry Denson and others you may know. 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. This unedited footage from Houston's KPRC-TV captures protesters outside the Houston Police Department headquarters on May 16, 1977. By Associated Press and Peter Belfiore For Dailymail.Com, Published: 17:01 GMT, 28 June 2021 | Updated: 08:56 GMT, 29 June 2021, Houston's police chief has publicly apologized to the family of a man killed by six officers more than four decades ago, calling it a 'straight-up murder.'. 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. According to sworn testimony, the officers then spreadeagled the prisoner against a patrol car, and Mr. Denson, after some discussion of what to do with the prisoner, said, Let's see if this wetback can swim. The prosecutors contended that Mr. Denson then pushed Mr. Torres into the bayou. The trials drew national attention, and HPDs newly minted internal affairs unit was overwhelmed with complaints. For years, [HPD] operated with impunity, he says. "We never got justice," his sister Sandra Torres told the Houston Chronicle in 2011. The convicted former officers are Terry W. Denson, 27, and Stephen Orlando, 22. | As news of the atrocity spread, Torress name became a rallying cry that united the citys Latino community in its search for justice. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. It's been 40 years since 23-year-old Vietnam War veteran Joe Campos Torres' body was found washed up on the banks of the Buffalo Bayou. Vilma Martinez, president of the MexicanAmerican Legal Defense and Educational Fund, also called for the judge's impeachment. 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. Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. The case became a national symbol of police brutality against Hispanics in the Southwest. 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. Divers search the murky water of Buffalo Bayou in an unsuccessful attempt to find a wallet belonging to a southeast Houston man allegedly drowned by a policeman. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. 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Sentencing offenders to perform humiliating tasks like shoveling manure, he became known as the "King of Shame." In addition to having a strong work ethic, Montero said, the officers should hail from the neighborhoods they would be policing. 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 Police Chief Troy Finner apologized to the family of Joe Campos Torres for his death in 1977 in Houston police custody, calling it 'straight-up murder', Torres, a US Army Vietnam veteran, was 23 when he was arrested on May 5, 1977 for disorderly conduct at a bar, and beaten. The Torres case prompted the Houston Police Department to create its Internal Affairs Division in 1977. Anyone can read what you share. Terry Denson in Texas. 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. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. Testimony at the Federal trial alleged that Mr. Torres was beaten severely after his arrest and forced to jump into the bayou by Mr. Denson, who told the man he wanted to see if a wetback can swim. Mr. Torres was a native Houstonian and a Vietnam veteran. You've got five officers sworn to protect, five, sworn to protect and serve and murdered an active military soldier,'. 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. About 150 protesters met at Commerce and San Jacinto on May 21, 1977 near the site where the body of Joe Campos Torres was found just weeks before. Of the six, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven 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. (Two activists, Travis Morales and Mara Youngdahl, were later fined a total of $9,000 on misdemeanor riot charges.). And once the word got out, they trusted us.. Buffalo Bayou near Commerce St. Tuesday May 6, 2014. Where's my brother? More often than not, they were the first Spanish-speaking officers the victims had come into contact with. Cat Cardenas is a writer focused on culture, entertainment, and the states Latino community. 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. Report: Houston is the No. All six officers were found guilty of violating Torres' civil rights, and given a ten-year suspended sentence. 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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. Reporters interview Harris County District Attorney Carol Vance, Divers search the depths of Buffalo Bayou for Torres' wallet, Protests outside the Harris County Courthouse. Given the departments broken relationship with the Latino community, making headway on the cases would be extremely difficult, especially because of the officer recruitment problem. The US Department of Justice subsequently conducted its own investigation. His body was found days later. Judge Sterling, who issued the sentences today without comment, was appointed to the Federal bench by President Ford in 1976. With those words, Officer Terry Denson tossed Joe Campos Torres into Buffalo Bayou. Surviving members of Torres' family also spoke on Sunday. 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. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. For Alonzo, the Chicano Squad is a reminder that reform is possible, even if its difficult to sustain. Mr. Torres's body was found in a Houston bayou on May 9, 1977, two days after he was arrested by Mr. Denson and other officers in a latenight barroom disturbance. Terry Denson was married to Tennie E. (Kimbrough) Denson on October 28, 1971 in Harris County, Texas. 512-485-3073 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. According to Houston police, they got a call about a missing 3-year-old girl at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday. HPD is now hiring for our upcoming classes. This is a carousel. The officers were eventually sentenced to nine months in prison, but tensions simmered for a year until they boiled over on the anniversary of Campos Torres' death. LOOKING BACK:Witnesses reflect on LA's Rodney King riot 25 years later. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. There, they brutally beat him for several hours. 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. In the case of [Torres], theres racism, theres extreme brutality.. 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