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. Torres' death and the light punishment the officers involved received would spark the infamous Moody Park riot one year later. When Black and Latino communities are asking for change, some people treat it like an impossibility, she says. 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Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. 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. 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. 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. 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. The people would open their hearts towards us because we were able to communicate with them, Mosqueda says in the podcast. The protests that . 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 drowning of Joe Campos Torres, 23, a laborer. Houston, and its police department, had to respond. 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. On May 5, 1977, Campos Torres, was arrested at a bar for disorderly conduct. The Torres case prompted the Houston Police Department to create its Internal Affairs Division in 1977. [Houston United States attorney Tony CANALES - thinks justice served.] 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. 1977 - Joe Campos Torres -- his death triggered an outcry from the Mexican-American community about police brutality in Houston. The Houston Police Department first arrested Phillips's replacement, a Security Guard Services, Inc. employee named Robert Taylor. The jury returned a probated sentence of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. 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. More than 40 people were arrested during the riots, which became nationwide news and led to the creation of HPD's internal affairs department. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/31/archives/3-former-officers-sentenced-in-texas-each-to-serve-extra-day-for.html. HPD is now hiring for our upcoming classes. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. There, the officers beat Torres, bruising and bloodying him to the point that when they finally drove him to the city jail, officials there wouldnt process him, telling the officers to take him to a nearby hospital. 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. Holland, 80, previously was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. More often than not, they were the first Spanish-speaking officers the victims had come into contact with. The convicted former officers are Terry W. Denson, 27, and Stephen Orlando, 22. In 2004, Poe was elected to the United States House of Representatives, serving for 14 years. 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.'. By the time Torres arrived at the jail, authorities refused to book him due to the extent of his injuries. Rishi Sunak is urgently reviewing his private exchanges with Matt Hancock after bombshell leak of ex-Health 'Drinks cold in fridge at DH!' 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. 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.. In the wake of Torress death, frustrated residents of Houstons barrios staged rallies and protests around the city. (Two activists, Travis Morales and Mara Youngdahl, were later fined a total of $9,000 on misdemeanor riot charges.). View the profiles of people named Terry Denson. 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. She blends vividly reported details of decades-old events with personal anecdotes of similar struggles. Find Terry Denson's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. Forty years ago Torres was killed by police in an incident that sparked massive riots across Houston. 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. 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. Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. By the time Torres arrived at the jail, authorities refused to book him due to the extent of his injuries. 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. 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 will cost each no more than a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. He's gone. 1 of 2. He said looters from the riot at Moody Park knocked out windows and forced the clerk to flee through the back of the store as the crowd looted. '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. Vanderbilt Television News Archive They were able to gain the trust of victims and witnesses because they knew how Hispanic Houstonians really lived.. 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. 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. 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?". Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. 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. The trials drew national attention, and HPDs newly minted internal affairs unit was overwhelmed with complaints. See the article in its original context from. By John M. Crewdson; Special to The New York Times. Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the appeal and ordered Judge Sterling to impose prison terms. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Joe Campos Torres. State District Judge James Warref of Walker County sentenced them to one year probation and a $1 fine. In 1978, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations at Moody Park erupted into riots. Above is the abstract of the item that you're interested in viewing from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive's collection. The former policemen had been on trial in connection with the drowning death of her son. How the Houston Zoo moved its flock of flamingos to a new home, Why the Texans should take Bijan Robinson with the No. If you are associated with a college or university, you may ask your library if they would like to become a sponsor, which would give students and faculty at your institution the ability to view items from our collection. 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.'. You've got five officers sworn to protect, five, sworn to protect and serve and murdered an active military soldier,'. 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