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He's gone. Protesters met at Commerce and San Jacinto near the site where the body of Joe Campos Torres was found May 8. Denson and Orlando were also convicted of assault and sentenced to nine months in prison. The judge received dismissed the case without explanation. On May 5, 1977, Campos Torres, was arrested at a bar for disorderly conduct. 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. 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. 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. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Two days later, his body was found badly beaten floating in Buffalo Bayou. October 18, 2016 You've got five officers sworn to protect, five, sworn to protect and serve and murdered an active military soldier,'. David Courtney, a.k.a. Officer Terry W. Denson, 27, is charged with murder in Torres' death. Terry W Denson of Harris County, Texas was born c. 1950. 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! A convenience store/drive-in grocery at 3814 Fulton is vandalized by riotersin the 1978 Moody Park riots. 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. Become a member to support the independent voice of Houston The officers then took Torres to the city jail, where jailers refused to process him due to his injuries. It is the headquarters for the Texas prison system. The unidentified suspect was suspected of throwing a brick during the riot. 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. Updated: June 20, 2015. ', Torres' sister Janie said she was 10 at the time of her brother's death and that her family was never the same. 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. Instead, the officers returned to The Hole, where they continued to beat Torres. The case became a national symbol of police brutality against Hispanics in the Southwest. The former officers have admitted that they beat their handcuffed prisoner for insolence before booking him. Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. ,The allwhite jury of seven men and five women was in its second day of deliberations after a trial conducted by Judge Ross N. Sterling, and had deliberated for a total of seven hours before reaching the verdict. 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.. Burning car flipped during a riot that began in nearby Moody Park. It goes to show how those moments of crisis and scandal within our public institutions become important opportunities for forward-looking leaders. When Black and Latino communities are asking for change, some people treat it like an impossibility, she says. Officer Terry Denson reportedly used . The US Department of Justice subsequently conducted its own investigation. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. This connection to Torres and to the officers on the Chicano Squad is what allows Alonzo to shine as a host. His drowned body was found three days later on May 8, 1977 - exactly 40 years ago today. Service station vandalized by riotersduring riot at Moody Park. You have three options if you'd like to view this item: If you believe that you are associated with a sponsoring college or university and have received this message in error, please let us know. Two of the officers who had beaten Torres, Terry W. Denson and Stephen. How the Houston Zoo moved its flock of flamingos to a new home, Why the Texans should take Bijan Robinson with the No. . Rishi Sunak is urgently reviewing his private exchanges with Matt Hancock after bombshell leak of ex-Health 'Drinks cold in fridge at DH!' 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. In addition to having a strong work ethic, Montero said, the officers should hail from the neighborhoods they would be policing. local news and culture, Olivia Flores Alvarez She blends vividly reported details of decades-old events with personal anecdotes of similar struggles. Torres was allegedly beaten and then drowned by Houston police. 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. A local boat operator called the police, identifying Torres by the military dog tags still hanging around his neck. Any time in the penitentiary would be unacceptable, Mr. Bennett said, adding that Mr. Denson was an outstanding public servant to this community.. 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. This unedited footage from Houston's KPRC-TV captures protesters outside the Houston Police Department headquarters on May 16, 1977. And as Mosqueda recalls, many non-Latino officers were happy to throw around the word wetbackthe same pejorative hurled at Torres before his death. 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. Decades before the recent police violence in Memphis, a brutally beaten Latino man was tossed by officers into a Houston bayou and drowned. 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.'. For Alonzo, the Chicano Squad is a reminder that reform is possible, even if its difficult to sustain. Following another beating, officers pushed Torres off a raised platform into Buffalo Bayou. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. Torres' death and the light punishment the officers involved received would spark the infamous Moody Park riot one year later. With limited resources and no prior detective training, they faced scrutiny from all sides. The Justice Department brought civil rights charges against the three after Mr. Denson and Mr. Orlando were acquitted of murder charges in state court. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Mr. Elliott later became a prosecution witness at both trials. Following a month-long trial, an all-white jury convicted Denson and Orlando on a reduced charge of negligent homicidea misdemeanor . Where's my brother? 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. At least 22 persons were arrested at a city park after violence broke out in the chiefly Mexican-American neighborhood following a disturbance which led to vandalism and bottle throwing among the estimated mob of 1,500 persons. 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Can Alperen Sengun become a passable defender for the Rockets? Buffalo Bayou near Commerce St. Tuesday May 6, 2014. Terry Denson was married to Tennie E. (Kimbrough) Denson on October 28, 1971 in Harris County, Texas. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Hernandez, Raymond Gonzalez, and Jose Selvera Jr. On top of their translating work in the field, the squad was also tasked with investigating 52 cases that experienced detectives on the force hadnt been able to crack. View the profiles of people named Terry Denson. Houston makes national news all the time. Officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were indicted for murder on June 28. They were, however, later convicted of civil rights violations and served nine months in prison. The girl's parents told the police they went to sleep at about 11 p.m. Saturday, and when . 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. Sentencing offenders to perform humiliating tasks like shoveling manure, he became known as the "King of Shame." Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Two Houston police officers stand guard over a wrecked convenience store at 3814 Fulton. Terry Denson, 27; Stephen Orlando, 22, and Joseph J. Janish, 22 -- said they do not plan to appeal the . 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. The summer of 1979, detective sergeant Jim Montero floated an idea past HPD chief Harry Caldwell: if he got permission to recruit a small group of Spanish-speaking patrol officers, he could train them to serve as translators in the field, helping the department to close the growing number of unsolved crimes in Houstons barrios. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. His body was found days later. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. Terry Denson in Texas. 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. 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 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 Texanist, is a staff writer. Many segments are silent and would have been voiced over by the anchorperson during a live broadcast. '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. Six police officers took Torres to a spot called "The Hole" next to Buffalo Bayou and beat him. '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. 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 cops got to go home to their families while he was floating in the water for three days.". City Employees Are Heading for the Exits. Bond resigned months later after only serving a year. Though he served in that role for less than three years, Caldwell instituted key reforms that still exist today, such as HPD's first internal affairs department, HPD's first formal manual and the first liaisons to minority communities. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 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. Chicano Squad members recognized at City Hall, Houston, 2019. six responding Houston Police Department officers, one year of probation and fined them each $1. 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. 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. The state granted immunity for two others, Glenn Brinkmeyer and Lewis Kinney, in exchange for their testimony. The sergeant said he told the officers to take the prisoner to a nearby hospital; instead, they took Mr. Torres back to the 16foot embankment overlooking Buffalo Bayou near downtown Housotn, where they had beaten him. CBS Evening News for Wednesday, Feb 08, 1978 Following another beating, officers pushed Torres off a raised platform into Buffalo Bayou. The trials drew national attention, and HPDs newly minted internal affairs unit was overwhelmed with complaints. One of them removed the handcuffs. 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. Surviving members of Torres' family also spoke on Sunday. Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. "There has never been anything to mark (Torres' death) in a positive way," Torres' nephew Richard Molina, told the Houston Chronicle in 2014. As the story goes, the 23-year-old was beaten so severely that authorities refused to accept him into the City Jail. 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. 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. Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Longtime Virginia men's basketball coach Terry Holland has died, the school announced Monday. 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. Note to sponsor members: The Vanderbilt Television News Archive video player requires a modern operating system and browser to work properly. 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. Houston police take man into custody during Moody Park riot that broke out following a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the park. By the following morning, 28 demonstrators had been taken into custody. 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. 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. There, they brutally beat him for several hours. To go home to their families while he was floating in the.... Of murder charges in state court from Houston & # x27 ; s parents told the police, Torres! Brutality against Hispanics in the Southwest later after only serving a year journalism turning. While she led fitness bounce class decades before the start of online publication in 1996 similar... 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