José Campos Torres (December 20, 1953 – May 5, 1977) was a 23-year-old

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

and veteran who was beaten by several

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

(HPD) officers, which subsequently led to his death. He had been brutally

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

ed by a group of on-duty police officers on May 5, 1977, after being arrested for disorderly conduct at a bar in Houston's Mexican-American

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

neighborhood. After Torres' arrest at the bar, the officers took him to the city jail for booking. But his injuries were so extensive that a supervisor instead ordered the officers to take Torres to a local hospital for immediate medical treatment. The officers did not comply with the order, and three days later, his severely beaten dead body was found floating in the

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...

, a creek on the outskirts of downtown Houston. Following the discovery of Torres' body, two of the arresting officers, Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando, were charged with murder. Three other officers were fired from the HPD by Police Chief B.G. Bond, but no criminal charges were brought against them. A rookie officer who was present at the scenes of Torres' torture and drowning was a key witness for the prosecution. Denson and Orlando were convicted at the state level for Torres' death, and found guilty of negligent homicide (a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

). An all-white jury sentenced the officers to one year's probation and a one dollar fine. The racial composition of the jury, and the minimized criminal convictions and sentencing sparked community outrage, leading to multiple protests and the 1978 Moody Park Riot. His death led to negotiations between advocacy-based non-profits and HPD officials, which resulted in the addition of policies that addressed police-community racial relations. Following the State of Texas' controversial convictions of the two former officers, the Torres case was reviewed at the federal level by the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

, which led to three of the officers' federal convictions for violating Torres'

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. Torres' murder generated significant newspaper coverage across the United States. Initially, it focused on his assault and drowning, but soon it turned its attention to the historic

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, lack of HPD over-watch and the recurring absence of state and federal investigations. Later, a locally produced documentary appeared, entitled ''The Case of Joe Campos Torres'', which focused on the history of police misconduct in Houston. In the year following his death, a poetic song by

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and activist

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

appeared, titled "Poem for José Campos Torres", reflecting the struggles surrounding racism and police brutality. On Saturday April 2, 2022 The City of Houston unveiled the Joe Campos Torres Memorial Plaza and trail along Buffalo Bayou. It is meant to remember the life of Torres and the impact his murder had on his family and the community. Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner said of the memorial "Mr. Campos Torres was brutally murdered in 1977. Nothing we do will bring him back to his loved ones. The monument will send a message; his life mattered, and our city will never let something like this happen again." Shawn Carreon, Torres' nephew, was quoted as well saying "Today is just to celebrate my uncle, Joe Campos Torres. My moms icbrother. I know she's been hurting and my grandmother has been hurting for the longest time, but now they can finally have some peace,"

Background

José Campos Torres was born to José Luna Torres Jr. in a poor family of Mexican descent. The family resided in a

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas. Torres achieved only an eighth-grade education. It is believed that a side effect of the poverty he experienced is what led to his constant struggle with his social demeanor. According to family and friends, Torres' dream was to run and own a

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

school. He wanted to open the school near his

neighborhood, allowing him to teach young people the art of self-defense. To pursue his dream, he realized that he needed a

General Education Diploma The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

(GED), a driver's license, and a job, preferably as a lineman with a telephone company. Richard Vargas, Torres' longtime friend, said that when Torres was 23 years old, he still felt emotionally lost, and was fighting a sporadic problem with alcohol. Torres would occasionally become very intoxicated, and his friends and family said that it was this that would trigger his aggression, in wanting to fight. Torres' younger brothers, Gilbert, 20 and Ray, 16 acknowledged that Torres had an occasional problem with alcohol abuse. "Alcohol really got to him sometimes." Vargas said, "Sometimes when he drank a lot he wanted to fight ... I didn't like to be around Joe when he was drinking. When he got drunk, he'd start practicing his karate. He'd yell and kick and punch at the air." When Torres was a teenager he got into a lot of fights, and yet he had confided to Vargas that he knew that the fighting would get him nowhere. Torres' father said that his son spent two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. During his military service, he was accepted to the United States Army Rangers, undergoing training at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

in North Carolina. While in training, he was separated from the service in September 1976, under a ' general discharge.' It was reported that his abuse of alcohol and anger outbursts are what ultimately led to his early release from the U.S. Army. His brother Gilbert said, "Before the service, Joe was bum and a drifter, but after he got out he really cut down on the drinking ... The normal Joe was different from the drunk Joe." He said, "The drunk Joe got rowdy easy and he

ook Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to: * Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec * On-off keying, in radio technology * Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska * Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck * Ook, th ...

things the wrong way sometimes." Just two weeks before his death, Torres found employment as a glass contractor, earning $2.75 an hour. Vargas said that Torres had difficulty staying employed ever since his discharge from the U.S. Army. He said that Torres resented his being restricted to tedious, low paying jobs due to his low education level and nominal military skills. Even though Torres had received training in the military as a telecommunications lineman, not having his GED and a driver's license were barriers to employment with a potential telecommunications provider. Vargas said, Torres' true passions were physical fitness and the art of karate. After his return from the U.S. Army he was working to receive a black belt (expert) rating in karate. In addition to his progress in karate, he also underwent weight training and jogged, frequently attaching weights to his feet.

Incident

Shortly before midnight on May 5, 1977, Torres was at the Club 21, a bar in Houston's predominantly Hispanic East End neighborhood, wearing his army fatigues and military boots. He had apparently been drinking, and police officers arrived, arresting him for disorderly conduct. The six officers who responded took Torres to "The Hole", a spot behind a warehouse overlooking Houston's

, and beat him there. The officers then took Torres to the city jail, who refused to process him due to his injuries. A supervisor ordered to take him to

Ben Taub Hospital Ben Taub Hospital is a public hospital located in Houston, Texas within the Texas Medical Center. Having opened in May 1963, the hospital is owned and operated by the Harris Health System and is staffed by the faculty, residents, and students fro ...

, but instead of doing so, the officers took him back to "The Hole", and pushed him off a wharf into the water. Torres's body was found three days later.

Trials

Officers Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando were tried on state murder charges. They were convicted of negligent homicide and received one year of probation and a one dollar fine. In 1978, Denson, Orlando and fired officer Joseph Janish were subsequently convicted of federal civil rights violations, and served nine months in prison.

Moody Park Riot

On the one year anniversary of José Campos Torres' murder a riot was started at Moody Park located in Houston's Near Northside neighborhood. The riot broke out on the evening of Sunday, May 7, 1978, at approximately 7:30 pm, once a

Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo ( in Mexico, Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoz ...

fiesta event ended at the park. Between five and six thousand people attended the celebration. Police arrived at the park in response to a call for an incident of disorderly conduct. It remains unclear on how the riot started. Some reports reflect that the officers were making a few arrests and this is when people in the event began yelling, "No you are not taking them" and "You'll kill them the way you killed José Campos Torres". The crowd's initial yelling immediately lead people to begin chanting in unison "Justice for Joe Torres" "Viva Joe Torres" and "A Chicano's life is worth more than a dollar!" The crowd then began throwing bottles and rocks at the officers. The Fulton Village shopping center's stores at 2900 Fulton street, were looted and set on fire. Abe Weiner, an owner of a department store in the shopping center, said it took the fire department over an hour to respond to his emergency

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

call for help. Three large buildings and two smaller ones in the shopping center were looted and stripped by fires. The rioting escalated to over a area adjacent to Moody Park. A total of six stores and one gasoline station were set on fire. Officers were promptly deployed in

riot gear Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...

to try and control the gathering of approximately 1,500 people according to police (other estimates reflect 150–300) who took part in the riot. Some rioters had flipped cars over and set them on fire, fourteen of the eighteen smashed and burned cars were police cars. The property damage of businesses and police vehicles reached $500,000. At least 28 people were taken into custody after the violence started in the predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood. The incident and all the fires were finally under control at 3:00 am. Houston police officer Tommy A. Britt suffered a broken leg when hit by a car while trying to close off one of the streets involved in the riot. The driver Rogelio Castillo did not pull over, but was apprehended a few blocks away from the incident.KPRC-TV The first news reporters to arrive at the scene were KPRC-TV reporter Jack Cato, and reporter/photographer Phil Archer. Both were beaten and stabbed. Cato suffered a punctured lung from a stab wound in the lower back. Archer was hit in the face with a brick and then stabbed in the left hip while lying unconscious on the pavement. Rioters attempted to smash the camera he was carrying. It was later recovered, badly damaged. Cato managed to bring out the video shot during the attack which shows some of the rioters surrounding a burning Houston Fire Department ambulance supervisor's car. The riot's violence left a total of five police officers, two news personnel and eight rioters injured and hospitalized. None of the fifteen hospitalized people died due to their injuries.

Apology

In June 2021, police chief Troy Finner apologized to the Torres family, calling the killing "straight-up murder."

Popular culture

Books

Author Dwight Watson dedicated the chapter "The Storm Clouds of Change: The Death of José Campos Torres and the Emergence of Triracial Politics in Houston" in the book ''Race and the Houston Police Department, 1930–1990 A Change Did Come''. The chapter covers the impact of Torres' murder on society and changes in Houston's policing policies.

Music

Poem for José Campos Torres

Vocalist and activist

, known as the "Godfather of Rap" and for his sociology charged spoken word performances in the '70s. Scott-Heron's best-known recording is the 1971 released "The Revolution Will Not be Televised", this artwork characterizes unashamed consumerism. Scott-Heron's artistry based on self-fortitude and resentment of racism spanned across racial cultures and was popular among both African-Americans and Latinos. In 1978, the year following Torres' murder, he targeted community awareness of the murder and created a poetic song focusing on America's systemic abuse of

Asian-Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peoples ...

, African-Americans and Hispanics in the heartfelt "Poem for José Campos Torres." The song was released as track 4 of the album titled; '' The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron.'' Scott-Heron saw Torres as a brother and made his familial tie to Torres in the lyrics, here is a quote from the song:

El Ballad De José Campos Torres

Charanga Cakewalk is the stage name for Michael Ramos, a self-described Latino Chicano Mexican who is also a citizen of the world. Ramos, from Austin, TX, is an instrumental artist who passes a distinguishing sound of Latino music onto the next generation of artistry. Ramos has played numerous instruments in studios and on-tours for

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

Patty Griffin Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...

Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys are an American musical group from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. The band consists of thr ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

and multiple notable artist. His artwork is self-styled as Cumbia-Tronic that soars between absorbed Electronic Dance and cultivated genres of Cumbia, Ranchera, Folklorica, and

Garage Rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

. In March 2006, Charanga Cakewalk released the album ''Chicano Zen''. The album has multiple instrumental songs, track 11 the closing song is the instrumental titled: "El Ballad de José Campos Torres", with a synth, accordion and piano drift inspired by the life of Torres:

Moody Park Riot (José Campos Torres)

In 2014 Nuño Records published, via SoundCloud, the song "Moody Park Riot (José Campos Torres)" written by Juan Nuño performed by Jesse James at Houston, TX. The lyrics depict Torres' beating and drowning along with events tied to the 1978 Moody Park Riot.

Television

Interview with Janie Torres

Art Browning hosted a television interview with Torres' little sister Janie Torres. The episode, produced by Green Watch Television (GWTV), is titled: "Joe Campos Torres, 40 years ago", first aired: Wednesday, April 26, 2017, duration: 24 min. When Browning asked about her thoughts on the establishment of

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

she replied: At the closing of the interview, Janie Torres, who was only a when her brother's life was taken, announced plans for an annual

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

walk in memory of her brother. The walk is targeted across all generations with the focus on awareness of police racism across the nation. The second annual walk and rally occurred on May 6, 2017, in Houston, Texas. Janie plans on continuing to hold the walks annually, to be held on the yearly anniversaries of her brother's murder. For social awareness she has posted the walk on a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

homepage; "Joe Campos Torres Solidarity Walk For Past & Future Generations".

Films

The Case of Joe Campos Torres

The documentary ''The Case of Joe Campos Torres'' recounts the calendar of events and ensuing community-protest assemblies, community/police department discussions, along with the legal actions taken by the Torres family against the Houston Police Department and the City of Houston. Filmed around Houston, the documentary records the Latino communities reaction to what they witnessed as an act of racial injustice against their population. The documentary, approximately 30 – 40 minutes in length, replays raw footage taken from local news station's archives. The footage is used as a reminder to viewers that before video cameras were able to bring police misconduct to light, the family of Torres had to rely on community support to help them find justice. The film was produced in 1977 by Tony Bruni and Houston's

KPRC-TV KPRC-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Graham Media Group. Its studios are located on Southwest Freeway (Interstate 69 in Texas, I-69/U.S. Route 59 in Texas#Inters ...

, Channel 2. Carlos Calbillo both wrote and edited the film and it was reported by

John Quiñones Juan Manuel "John" Quiñones (born May 23, 1952) is an American ABC News correspondent who hosted '' What Would You Do?''. Early life and education Quiñones was born in San Antonio, Texas, on May 23, 1952. He is a fifth-generation San Antonia ...

, who is now with

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

and hosts the series '' What Would You Do?''.

Podcast

Chicano Squad

Podcast discussing the murder of Mr. Torres and the resulting formation of a homicide squad made up of chicano officers. https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/chicano-squad

References

External links

Joe Campos Torres Solidarity Walk For Past & Future Generations
Facebook page
Press Conference about Moody Park Riot (1978)

Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film h ...