Consider it our city's version of the Ferguson protests. That sort of exchange previously would have been unimaginable. Many segments are silent and would have been voiced over by the anchorperson during a live broadcast. Anyone can read what you share. 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. 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. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/31/archives/3-former-officers-sentenced-in-texas-each-to-serve-extra-day-for.html. Judge Sterling has been criticized recently by some members of a Federal grand jury here that handed up antiracketeering indictments against two oilbrokering firms. View other clips in this broadcast . 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. Latinos around town began pinning a single dollar bill to their shirts, meant to symbolize what their lives were worth in the eyes of the criminal justice system. The two officers convicted in the Torres' case are expected to be sentenced within a few days. Dolph Briscoe, prompted the Department of Justice to seek indictments against the former officers on charges of having violated Mr. Torres's civil rights. Terry Denson in Texas. In just a few short years, relationships between HPD and Houston's Hispanic community had improved to such a degree that Caldwell even commended a local police critic during a LULAC convention, who in turn praised the chief for his efforts. . Anyone can read what you share. The judge received dismissed the case without explanation. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Joe Campos Torres. 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. 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. Instead, they brought him back to the Hole. 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. He was on duty at the time of the murder and HPD discovered he. The officers involved were found guilty of negligent homicide and ultimately given a year and a day in prison for civil rights violations. Surviving members of Torres' family also spoke on Sunday. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Who Said It: Legendary Houston Comedian Bill Hicks or New El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks? The protests that . Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. "We never got justice," his sister Sandra Torres told the Houston Chronicle in 2011. Buffalo Bayou near Commerce St. Tuesday May 6, 2014. 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. 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. More often than not, they were the first Spanish-speaking officers the victims had come into contact with. The jury returned a probated sentence of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. 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. 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. Six police officers took Torres to a spot called "The Hole" next to Buffalo Bayou and beat him. Dairy Queen Gets an Updated Jingle, Courtesy of Josh Abbott, Check Out Kilgores Treasure Trove of Vintage Cameras, Radios, and TVs, How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire. In May 1977, Houston Police arrested Army veteran Joe Campos Torres following a disturbance outside an East End bar. When they brought him to the station, according to the testimony of a police sergeant on duty, Mr. Torres needed medical treatment. Following a month-long trial, an all-white jury convicted Denson and Orlando on a reduced charge of negligent homicidea misdemeanor . Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. Vilma Martinez, president of the MexicanAmerican Legal Defense and Educational Fund, also called for the judge's impeachment. Above is the abstract of the item that you're interested in viewing from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive's collection. And though her mother instilled in her a love for the U.S., Alonzo was also aware that her identity as a Mexican American sometimes made her a target. Houston, and its police department, had to respond. 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. (Two activists, Travis Morales and Mara Youngdahl, were later fined a total of $9,000 on misdemeanor riot charges.). Two days later, his body was found badly beaten floating in Buffalo Bayou. The Houston Police Department Chicano Squad, founded in 1979 after the killing of Jose Campos Torres. Instead of being transferred to Ben Taub Hospital for treatment, Torres was taken to a site along Buffalo Bayou near Commerce, where he either jumped or was pushed into the bayou. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Leave them blank to get signed up. [Victim's mother Margaret TORRES - feels happy because she wanted justice and doesn't want this to happen again.] 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! Police attempts to break up the crowd were met with waves of retaliation by the attendees. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, drowned . 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. The six arresting officers instead took him, once again, to The Hole. The Houston Police Department first arrested Phillips's replacement, a Security Guard Services, Inc. employee named Robert Taylor. The city was quickly growing into the murder capital of the United States as a slew of unsolved killings in Houstons barrios piled up. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the appeal and ordered Judge Sterling to impose prison terms. Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando two of the arresting officers were charged with murder following the discovery of Torres' body. Three buildings in the shopping center were gutted by the fire. The pain is a lot deeper than what you could have ever imagined. The group cleared forty homicides by the end of 1979 and later earned the recognition of the National Latino Peace Officers, in 1997, when they solved 91 percent of the cases theyd been assigned. Sometimes it's our sports teams, sometimes it's the happenings over at NASA, a breakthrough at the Medical Center or our atrocious weather that's in the headlines. The other count, a misdemeanor violation of Mr. Torres's rights by intimidation, carries a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. 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. 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. Outraged Mexican-American spokesman immediately called on the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute the case in federal court as a civil rights violation, for which the officers could receive up to life in prison. The people would open their hearts towards us because we were able to communicate with them, Mosqueda says in the podcast. 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.'. Rather than taking him directly to the nearby jail, six responding Houston Police Department officers took a detour to a secluded spot near Buffalo Bayou that they called The Hole. The location is just off the 1200 block of Commerce. 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. 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. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. In 1977, Joe Campos Torres had been arrested at a Houston bar for disorderly conduct. The Torres case prompted the Houston Police Department to create its Internal Affairs Division in 1977. 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. 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. Its possible.. 6:00AM, Kinetic Celebrates Womens History Month with a World Premiere, What Your Favorite Mainline Final Fantasy Game Says About You. Following a month-long trial, an all-white jury convicted Denson and Orlando on a reduced charge of negligent homicidea misdemeanoron October 6. 3908 Avenue B, Suite 105 You may visit the Television News Archive on the Vanderbilt campus to view on-site from the Archive's collection. By the time Torres arrived at the jail, authorities refused to book him due to the extent of his injuries. Carlos Calbillo sat on railing next to Buffalo Bayou near Commerce Street Tuesday. | They're dead, Michael C. Ramsey, one of the defense lawyers, said of the Justice Department's appeal effort, which he termed frivolous. Mr. Ramsey said he considered today's sentences a victory for the additional reason that the three defendants would no longer have to face the five years probation originally imposed by the Judge. His body was found days later. By the following morning, 28 demonstrators had been taken into custody. 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. 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. . 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. 1977 - Joe Campos Torres -- his death triggered an outcry from the Mexican-American community about police brutality in Houston. '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. Houston police take man into custody during Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. (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. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. State District Judge James Warref of Walker County sentenced them to one year probation and a $1 fine. We can only hope that the next congressional delegation brings along Sessions so that he, too, can learn the story of Joe Campos Torres and Chief Caldwell. 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. An all-white jury found them guilty of negligent homicidea misdemeanorand sentenced the officers. 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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. Defense attorney Mike Ramsey and his client, Steven Orlando, follow. Historian Dwight David Watson, who is interviewed in Chicano Squad, wrote a book on twentieth-century HPD history in which he traces its ties to the Ku Klux Klan in the twenties and the years of racist incidents and attempts at reform that followed. And as Mosqueda recalls, many non-Latino officers were happy to throw around the word wetbackthe same pejorative hurled at Torres before his death. Last month, members of Congress visited our city to learn about HPD's successful community programs. 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. Note to sponsor members: The Vanderbilt Television News Archive video player requires a modern operating system and browser to work properly. 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. 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. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. The state granted immunity for two others, Glenn Brinkmeyer and Lewis Kinney, in exchange for their testimony. 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. The state granted immunity for two others, Glenn Brinkmeyer and Lewis Kinney, in exchange for their testimony. And once the word got out, they trusted us.. In their barrios, things werent much better. Officer Terry Denson reportedly used . 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. 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. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Torres. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. The conflicts could have kept escalating were it not for Houston's new police chief, Harry Caldwell, who was hired a few months after the riot. For years, [HPD] operated with impunity, he says. 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. By Gloria Rubac posted on April 12, 2022. When you look at the records of some of their arrests, youll find lacerated livers, fractured skulls, broken hands. 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.". Reporters interview Harris County District Attorney Carol Vance, Divers search the depths of Buffalo Bayou for Torres' wallet, Protests outside the Harris County Courthouse. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner comforts Margarita Campos Torres, the mother of 23-year-old Jose Campos Torres killed by police in 1977, as they stand in front of a trail at 1301 Commerce with an Army photo of her son dedicated in his honor April 2 in downtown Houston. All six officers were found guilty of violating Torres' civil rights, and given a ten-year suspended sentence. The widely publicized case was moved on a change of venue to Huntsville, a town of 20,000, about 70 miles north of Houston. On January 15, according to a $100,000 damage suit filed by Robert and Alice Gleason, N. W. Holloway and his partner J. T. Olin were among several other cops who stormed into their Pasadena trailer. That trial took place in Huntsville, Tex., 70 miles north of Houston, because the defendants had said they could not get a fair trial in Houston. Powerful Commons committee could look at case for banning stoves in towns and Love Island hit by hundreds of Ofcom complaints from furious viewers over 'toxic femininity' row and Movie Carrie Johnson joins campaign for Joanna Simpson's killer BA pilot husband who bludgeoned her to death with 'I don't know if I can trust them': Mel B reveals she 'wouldn't call the police' over domestic violence - Houston police chief Troy Finner formally apologizes to family of Joe Campos Torres over 1977 death - ABC13 Houston, Do not sell or share my personal information. No longer accepting comments on this article during Moody Park riot that broke out following a month-long trial, all-white... To treat you as a victim [ of a Federal grand jury here that handed up antiracketeering indictments two. 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