In 2010, because HPDs increasingly diverse workforce now includes a higher number of Spanish-speaking officers, the group was disbanded. With those words, Officer Terry Denson tossed Joe Campos Torres into Buffalo Bayou. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. 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. In 1977, Joe Campos Torres had been arrested at a Houston bar for disorderly conduct. Articles about the drowning of Joe Campos Torres appeared in the Houston Chronicle on May 15, 1977. 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. The US Department of Justice subsequently conducted its own investigation. . 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. As news of the atrocity spread, Torress name became a rallying cry that united the citys Latino community in its search for justice. Torres subsequently drowned. The Killing of Jos Campos Torres. Terry Denson was married to Tennie E. (Kimbrough) Denson on October 28, 1971 in Harris County, Texas. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Torres. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. State District Judge James Warref of Walker County sentenced them to one year probation and a $1 fine. 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. 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. It's never had its own day, but is definitely something that should be remembered, a lesson of Houston history and among Mexican-Americans. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. (Studio) Report on conviction of 3 former Houston policemen accused of violating civil rights of Mex.-American who drowned while in their custody. 110 Twenty-first Avenue South, Suite 704 Nashville, TN 37203, USA. Bond resigned months later after only serving a year. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 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Judge Sterling has been criticized recently by some members of a Federal grand jury here that handed up antiracketeering indictments against two oilbrokering firms. The protests that . Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Houston firemen fight blaze which was reportedly set by rioters in the 4400 block of Fulton. Poe served as a chief felony prosecutor for eight years before being appointed a state district judge in 1981. The department wanted to rebuild its reputation fast. The six arresting officers instead took him, once again, to The Hole. 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. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. 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. . Of the six, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were charged with murder. Joining HPD was regarded almost as a betrayal. Houston police take man into custody during Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. See the article in its original context from. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. In 1977 Joe Campos Torres had been arrested at a Houston bar for disorderly conduct. Officer Terry Denson came up with the idea: "Let's see if the wetback can swim," he said. As the story goes, the 23-year-old was beaten so severely that authorities refused to accept him into the City Jail. "Let's see if the wetback can swim." With those words, Officer. 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. Because the felony and misdemeanor sentences are concurrent, the three will probably serve less than a year in prison. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Welcome! 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. 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. 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. "The environment that created the Torres case continues to exist," Garcia said, "and we can expect a continuation of the same kind of thing.". Janie Torres is the sister of Jose "Joe" Campos Torres, who on May 5, 1977 was beaten and thrown into Buffalo Bayou by Houston police officers. Although members of the Houston police force have previously been accused of brutality against prisoners, the Torres case is the first such incident to be brought to trial. Austin, TX 78751, Grand Jury Investigation into the Death of Jos Campos Torres (1977). She blends vividly reported details of decades-old events with personal anecdotes of similar struggles. Leave them blank to get signed up. On the night of May 5, 1977, Houston police officers arrested Torres at an East End bar for disorderly conduct. "There has never been anything to mark (Torres' death) in a positive way," Torres' nephew Richard Molina, told the Houston Chronicle in 2014. 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. Houston firemen fight a blaze which was reportedly set by rioters in the 4400 block of Fulton. Terry Denson in Texas. And those who chronicled the attack said the executioner was. 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. 'Our ultimate goal is humanizing our uncle at this point. Each to Serve Extra Day for Roles in Suspect's Death Judge Assailed as Too Lenient. As we said at the time: what difference is it going to make to have the cops speaking Spanish when they brutalize and murder someone? he asks on the podcast. The Cavaliers said . Buffalo Bayou near Commerce St. Tuesday May 6, 2014. 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. [Victim's mother Margaret TORRES - feels happy because she wanted justice and doesn't want this to happen again.] Many segments are silent and would have been voiced over by the anchorperson during a live broadcast. 512-485-3073 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. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. Houston's independent source of 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. 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. . Any editing, reproduction, publication, rebroadcast, public showing or public display may be prohibited by copyright laws. 'I will never be the same, my family will never be the same. With limited resources and no prior detective training, they faced scrutiny from all sides. Rishi Sunak is urgently reviewing his private exchanges with Matt Hancock after bombshell leak of ex-Health 'Drinks cold in fridge at DH!' After the Huntsville verdict was reached last fall, pressure from Texas political leaders, including Gov. 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. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Terry W. Denson. The officers on trial, Stephen Orlando, 21 years old, and Terry Denson . 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! Updated: June 20, 2015. View other clips in this broadcast . Two Houston police officers stand guard over a wrecked convenience store at 3814 Fulton. The victim, Joe Campos Torres, 23, allegedly was dumped off the 25-foot retaining wall into the bayou last Friday. But as Alonzo points out: the squads role wasnt to patrol these neighborhoods, it was to solve the crimes that were plaguing them. When police attempted to make an arrest at a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park, attendees began throwing rocks and overturning police cars. 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.". Chicano Squad members recognized at City Hall, Houston, 2019. six responding Houston Police Department officers, one year of probation and fined them each $1. [Houston United States attorney Tony CANALES - thinks justice served.] A lot has changed since 1979 at HPD, but community policing is really important, Moravec says. 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. 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.. By John M. Crewdson; Special to The New York Times. 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. Campos Torres was beaten by six officers for hours before they took him to the city jail. CBS Evening News for Wednesday, Feb 08, 1978 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. 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. 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. and help keep the future of the Houston Press, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, HPD Investigating Victims' Crime Advocate Andy Kahan, A Murder in Montrose: the Paul Broussard Legacy. Hector J. Garcia of Houston, chairman of the Coalition for Responsible Law Enforcement, whose group has been meeting with police officials since last April, said violent police incidents here show no sign of abating. Burning car flipped during a riot that began in nearby Moody Park. local news and culture, Olivia Flores Alvarez The Torres case prompted the Houston Police Department to create its Internal Affairs Division in 1977. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Two observers watch as Margaret Torres throws a wreath into Buffalo Bayou in memory of her son, Joe Campos Torres. Terry Denson, 27; Stephen Orlando, 22, and Joseph J. Janish, 22 -- said they do not plan to appeal the . He said it demonstrated once again that there is "a dual standard of justice" in Texas, adding, "Our only redress in the federal courts.". On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. On May 5, 1977, Houston police arrested Jos Campos Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, at an East End bar for disorderly conduct. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. For Alonzo, the Chicano Squad is a reminder that reform is possible, even if its difficult to sustain. Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam War veteran, drowned . Divers search the Buffalo Bayou site where Joe Campos Torres' body was found floating May 8, 1977. For years, [HPD] operated with impunity, he says. 1977 - Joe Campos Torres -- his death triggered an outcry from the Mexican-American community about police brutality in Houston. 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. Protesters met at Commerce and San Jacinto near the site where the body of Joe Campos Torres was found May 8. The violence May 7 left five police officers and two newsmen injured, and several stores in the area burned or looted. Past charges of brutality against Houston Police Department noted. The two officers convicted in the Torres' case are expected to be sentenced within a few days. More often than not, they were the first Spanish-speaking officers the victims had come into contact with. 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. Jerry Click/ Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 35 of 56 Houston police officers administer first aid to Officer Tommy A. Britt, injured by a car that broke through a police line at Irvington . Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. 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. The location is just off the 1200 block of Commerce. '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. We want to let the people know what kind of person he was and what he meant to my family,' Molina said. Dozens were arrested and 15 were injured as protesters clashed with police in one of the citys most notorious riots. Material supplied by VTNA may be used for educational analysis or research only. 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. Sam Buyajian 33, surveys the wreckage of his drive-in grocery at 3814 Fulton. 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. "No parade, no day of remembrance. The three former officers are to be sentenced late next month. They were, however, later convicted of civil rights violations and served nine months in prison. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. 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. Officer Terry Denson reportedly used . TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Following another beating, officers pushed Torres off a raised platform into Buffalo Bayou. 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. Join Facebook to connect with Terry Denson and others you may know. Vanderbilt Television News Archive Torres, an American citizen and a former serviceman, was wearing combat boots at the time of the fatal plunge. "'You're not going to take him and do what you did to Joe Campos Torres.". Last month, members of Congress visited our city to learn about HPD's successful community programs. 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. Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. the Texanist, is a staff writer. LOOKING BACK:Witnesses reflect on LA's Rodney King riot 25 years later. 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Can Alperen Sengun become a passable defender for the Rockets? 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. 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. 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. ', Torres' sister Janie said she was 10 at the time of her brother's death and that her family was never the same. The case became a national symbol of police brutality against Hispanics in the Southwest. The officers involved were found guilty of negligent homicide and ultimately given a year and a day in prison for civil rights violations. And as Mosqueda recalls, many non-Latino officers were happy to throw around the word wetbackthe same pejorative hurled at Torres before his death. The convicted former officers are Terry W. Denson, 27, and Stephen Orlando, 22. 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. Calbillo is one of several people working to get a historical marker for Joe Campos Torres. 6:00AM, Kinetic Celebrates Womens History Month with a World Premiere, What Your Favorite Mainline Final Fantasy Game Says About You. Following another beating, officers pushed Torres off a raised platform into Buffalo Bayou. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. View Terry Denson results in Texas (TX) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Fantasy Game says about you and were fined $ 1 and sentenced probation. From Texas political leaders, including terry denson houston police HPD, but community policing is really important, says. 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