Looters struck the store during a riot that began at Moody Park. 'Let's get this clear because there's been some chatter in the neighborhoods [about] how Chief Finner feels about this,' he said of Torres' death, 'and that is straight-up murder of somebody. 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. 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. Following another beating, officers pushed Torres off a raised platform into Buffalo Bayou. You were a victim [of a crime], so Im going to treat you as a victim. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Slowly, the Chicano Squad earned back the trust that HPD had lost. View the profiles of people named Terry Denson. The former policemen had been on trial in connection with the drowning death of her son. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. Austin, TX 78751. We need to be honest about our history in order to learn from it, because decades later, the same thing is still happening., For decades before Torress murder, violent encounters with HPD officers had soured the relationship between the police department and the citys Black and Latino communities. 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. Houston police officers administer first aid to Officer Tommy A. Britt, injured by a car that broke through a police line at Irvington and Fulton during a riot that began in nearby Moody Park. 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. Any time in the penitentiary would be unacceptable, Mr. Bennett said, adding that Mr. Denson was an outstanding public servant to this community.. During the research process, Moravec found that the Chicano Squad posted a consistently higher clearance rate than other HPD units. 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. 3908 Avenue B, Suite 105 The people would open their hearts towards us because we were able to communicate with them, Mosqueda says in the podcast. And those who chronicled the attack said the executioner was. Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. Terry Denson, 27; Stephen Orlando, 22, and Joseph J. Janish, 22 -- said they do not plan to appeal the . Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. The Torres case prompted the Houston Police Department to create its Internal Affairs Division in 1977. There, they brutally beat him for several hours. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. Anyone can read what you share. 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. By the following morning, 28 demonstrators had been taken into custody. 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. 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. Today, Campos Torres' family is working to erect an official marker to commemorate his death and the riots. Terry Denson and Steven Orlando, for 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. After adjustments, if you continue to experience problems, please contact us. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Oops! Im not an immigration officer. Leave them blank to get signed up. The three former officers, Terry W. Denson, 29 years old, Joseph J. Janish, 25 and Stephen Orlando, 24, were found guilty in Judge Sterling's court last year of responsibility for the death by. "All those cops, they just got a slap on the wrist, and you know what? This connection to Torres and to the officers on the Chicano Squad is what allows Alonzo to shine as a host. This is a carousel. His body would end up in the Buffalo Bayou, where it was found three days later. 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. 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 Police Chief B. G. "Pappy" Bond holds a press conference in his office. His drowned body was found three days later on May 8, 1977 - exactly 40 years ago today. Witnesses on the other side of the bayou couldnt make out what was happening in the darkness, but they heard a scuffle, then a splash. News car burns in background as youths prepare to burn Houston police car on Fulton Street. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. The cops got to go home to their families while he was floating in the water for three days.". His body was found days later. An all-white jury found them guilty of negligent homicidea misdemeanorand sentenced the officers to a year's probation and a $1 fine. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. 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. Three days later, on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 8, 1977 his dead body was found severely beaten and floating in the Buffalo Bayou, a creek on the outskirts of downtown Houston. On the night of May 5, 1977, Houston police officers arrested Torres at an East End bar for disorderly conduct. | [Houston United States attorney Tony CANALES - thinks justice served.] The Cavaliers said . Following a month-long trial, an all-white jury convicted Denson and Orlando on a reduced charge of negligent homicidea misdemeanoron October 6. The squads success came from how connected they were to these neighborhoods. 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? The appeals court did not specify the severity of the sentences to be imposed, however, and John Wilson, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington, said that no further appeals would be forthcoming because the judge had acted within the limits of the order.. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. 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. Rishi Sunak is urgently reviewing his private exchanges with Matt Hancock after bombshell leak of ex-Health 'Drinks cold in fridge at DH!' According to the podcast, between 1950, when the police department hired its first Hispanic officer, and 1970, HPD had hired fewer than 20 Hispanic officers. The pain is a lot deeper than what you could have ever imagined. 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. 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. 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. Torres's body was found two days later. She blends vividly reported details of decades-old events with personal anecdotes of similar struggles. Two of the officers who had beaten Torres, Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando, were charged with murder. View other clips in this broadcast . 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.. One of them removed the handcuffs. Attorneys for the three defendants said they would probably appeal the verdict. Instead, they brought him back to the Hole. Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. 'I will never be the same, my family will never be the same. Because the felony and misdemeanor sentences are concurrent, the three will probably serve less than a year in prison. But as Alonzo points out: the squads role wasnt to patrol these neighborhoods, it was to solve the crimes that were plaguing them. 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?". When Black and Latino communities are asking for change, some people treat it like an impossibility, she says. 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 two officers convicted in the Torres' case are expected to be sentenced within a few days. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. 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. Holland, 80, previously was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. They were ordered to take him to Ben Taub General Hospital, but instead of doing so, the officers brought him back to the banks of Buffalo Bayou and pushed him into the water. Carlos Calbillo sits on railing near Buffalo Bayou near Commerce Street, the area where his friend Joe Campos Torres was killed by police in 1977. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. We want to let the people know what kind of person he was and what he meant to my family,' Molina said. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando two of the arresting officers were charged with murder following the discovery of Torres' body. Films shown; previous state trial of 2 officers and demands of local Mex.-Americans for Justice Department probe noted. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. However, Houston's police chief issued a statement saying that "the processes of justice have prevailed over demagoguery.". Following a month-long trial, an all-white jury convicted Denson and Orlando on a reduced charge of negligent homicidea misdemeanoron October 6. 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. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. 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! You may visit the Television News Archive on the Vanderbilt campus to view on-site from the Archive's collection. State District Judge James Warref of Walker County sentenced them to one year probation and a $1 fine. 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 prisoner, Joe Campos Torres, a 23-yearold laborer whose body was found floating in Bffalo Bayou two days after the beating. 09/13/1977 - Fired HPD officer Terry Denson, right, arrives for court at the Criminal Justice Center at Sam Houston State University where his trial for the May 6 murder of Joe Campos . 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. 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. The victim, Joe Campos Torres, 23, allegedly was dumped off the 25-foot retaining wall into the bayou last Friday. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Torres. 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. 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. Every passing month seems to bring news of some officer killing an unarmed young man - we're still mourning the death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in Balch Springs, a Dallas suburb. Anyone can read what you share. Before that he was a member of the Houston law firm of Vinson, Elkins, to which John B. Connally, the Republican presidential candidate, also belongs. 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. 1 of 2. Judge Sterling, who issued the sentences today without comment, was appointed to the Federal bench by President Ford in 1976. 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. 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. When police attempted to make an arrest at a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park, attendees began throwing rocks and overturning police cars. They were, however, later convicted of civil rights. Vanderbilt Television News Archive 512-485-3073 The department wanted to rebuild its reputation fast. Divers were hoping to find a wallet belonging to Torres. The Department of Justice is supposed to fill that leadership role at a national level. 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. Three buildings in the shopping center were gutted by the fire. New Higher Salaries! Houston. info@texasarchive.org By the time Torres arrived at the jail, authorities refused to book him due to the extent of his injuries. Officer Terry Denson reportedly used . Margaret Torres, mother of Joe Campos Torres, speaks to a crowd gathered at the Houston police station Oct. 8, 1977 to protest the verdict handed down by a Huntsville jury in the the murder trial of former Houston policemen Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando. Aided by the research of producer and Austin-based journalist Eva Ruth Moravec, Alonzo guides listeners through interviews with Chicano activists, former police officers, scholars, and Torress family members. All six officers were found guilty of violating Torres' civil rights, and given a ten-year suspended sentence. 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. The Torres case prompted the Houston Police Department to create its Internal Affairs Division in 1977. The widely publicized case was moved on a change of venue to Huntsville, a town of 20,000, about 70 miles north of Houston. 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. Poe served as a chief felony prosecutor for eight years before being appointed a state district judge in 1981. City officials vowed to memorialize Torres in some way, The worst thing for her, she said was that, 'No matter how many apologies we get, it can never change the fact because Joe, at the end, never got justice.'. Denson testified that Torres had said he could swim and had jumped into the water. The three former officers are to be sentenced late next month. 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. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/31/archives/3-former-officers-sentenced-in-texas-each-to-serve-extra-day-for.html. 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