terry denson houston police

'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. Of the six, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were charged with murder. Houston, and its police department, had to respond. 110 Twenty-first Avenue South, Suite 704 Nashville, TN 37203, USA. Articles about the drowning of Joe Campos Torres appeared in the Houston Chronicle on May 15, 1977. Protesters met at Commerce and San Jacinto near the site where the body of Joe Campos Torres was found May 8. On May 5, 1977, Campos Torres, was arrested at a bar for disorderly conduct. Two of the officers who had beaten Torres, Terry W. Denson and Stephen. One of the counts, involving a violation of Federal civil rights laws in which death results, is a felony, with the maximum sentence life in prison. Officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were indicted for murder on June 28. Six police officers took Torres to a spot called "The Hole" next to Buffalo Bayou and beat him. Officer Terry W. Denson, 27, is charged with murder in Torres' death. October 18, 2016 "We never got justice," his sister Sandra Torres told the Houston Chronicle in 2011. On the one-year anniversary of Torres' death, the simmering social unrest erupted into riots. 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. By the time Torres arrived at the jail, authorities refused to book him due to the extent of his injuries. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. "People rose-up and started throwing rocks and bottles at the police, overturning police cars and shouting 'Justice for Joe Torres' and 'Viva Joe Torres,'" Barthe said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 512-485-3073 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. Mr. Torres was arrested May 5 at Houston tavern on charges of disturbing the peace. In 1977, Joe Campos Torres had been arrested at a Houston bar for disorderly conduct. As the story goes, the 23-year-old was beaten so severely that authorities refused to accept him into the City Jail. Carlos Calbillo sat on railing next to Buffalo Bayou near Commerce Street Tuesday. Terry Denson and Steven Orlando, for murder. The city was quickly growing into the murder capital of the United States as a slew of unsolved killings in Houstons barrios piled up. 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. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. When you look at the records of some of their arrests, youll find lacerated livers, fractured skulls, broken hands. Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. When police attempted to make an arrest at a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park, attendees began throwing rocks and overturning police cars. Each to Serve Extra Day for Roles in Suspect's Death Judge Assailed as Too Lenient. 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. Its possible.. 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. A Houston Chronicle reporter and photographer joined the Northeastern Trail Riders Association to document the highlights and challenges of life on the trail during the group's 108-mile journey to the 2023 Houston Letter from the editor: Introducing our exclusive new newsletter, Black trail riders head to Houston rodeo parade after grueling, joyful 6-day journey. View Terry Denson results in Texas (TX) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. It's never had its own day, but is definitely something that should be remembered, a lesson of Houston history and among Mexican-Americans. They were, however, later convicted of civil rights violations and served nine months in prison. 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.. Following another beating, Campos Torres was pushed off the raised platform and fell 20 feet into the Bayou, where his body was found three days later. 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Three days later, on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 8, 1977 his dead body was found severely beaten and floating in the Buffalo Bayou, a creek on the outskirts of downtown Houston. 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. Holland, 80, previously was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Houston firemen put out fire of burning car flipped during a riot that began in nearby Moody Park. Police responded to a call at the park on the evening of May 7, 1978, and as the crowd began chanting Justice for Jose Torres, a riot broke out. Films shown; previous state trial of 2 officers and demands of local Mex.-Americans for Justice Department probe noted. Divers search the Buffalo Bayou site where Joe Campos Torres' body was found floating May 8, 1977. By the following morning, 28 demonstrators had been taken into custody. 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. They were, however, later convicted of civil rights. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. 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. Three buildings in the shopping center were gutted by the fire. The Killing of Jos Campos Torres. All six officers were found guilty of violating Torres' civil rights, and given a ten-year suspended sentence. When they brought him to the station, according to the testimony of a police sergeant on duty, Mr. Torres needed medical treatment. The Houston Police Department Chicano Squad, founded in 1979 after the killing of Jose Campos Torres. Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. According to Houston police, they got a call about a missing 3-year-old girl at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday. 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 location is just off the 1200 block of Commerce. 09/13/1977 - Fired HPD officer Terry Denson, right, arrives for court at the Criminal Justice Center at Sam Houston State University where his trial for the May 6 murder of Joe Campos . We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. 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. Austin, TX 78751. Houston police officers give first aid to officer Tommy A. Britt who was injured by a car that broke through a police line at Irvington and Fulton during a riot that began in nearby Moody Park. Officers Terry Denson and Stephen Orlando were convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1 and sentenced to probation. 3908 Avenue B, Suite 105 The officers then took Torres to the city jail, who refused to process him due to his injuries. While speakers from the La Raza Unida party, the Texas Farmworkers Union, the Barrios Unidos en Defensa and the Torres family addressed the crowd, the father of the dead man, Joe Torres Sr., watched with his wife Margaret. 1977, Houston Police officer Terry Denson yelled, "Let's see if this wetback can swim!" Denson, along with five other white policemen (Louis Kinney, Glen Brinkmeyer, Joseph Janish, Stephen Orlando, and Carless Elliot) had arrested Torres after responding to a complaint of a drunken Instead, the officers returned to The Hole, where they continued to beat Torres. The former officers have admitted that they beat their handcuffed prisoner for insolence before booking him. The Houston Police Department first arrested Phillips's replacement, a Security Guard Services, Inc. employee named Robert Taylor. In their barrios, things werent much better. Any time in the penitentiary would be unacceptable, Mr. Bennett said, adding that Mr. Denson was an outstanding public servant to this community.. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. A desk sergeant ordered the six officers to take Torres to Ben Taub General Hospital for medical treatment. The former policemen had been on trial in connection with the drowning death of her son. Assistant District Attorney Ted Poe talks about coordination between the District Attorney's Office and the grand jury. Terry Denson was married to Tennie E. (Kimbrough) Denson on October 28, 1971 in Harris County, Texas. 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. There, they brutally beat him for several hours. 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. Mr. Elliott later became a prosecution witness at both trials. 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. Of the six, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were charged with murder. An all-white jury found them guilty of negligent homicidea misdemeanorand sentenced the officers to a year's probation and a $1 fine. One of them removed the handcuffs. [Houston United States attorney Tony CANALES - thinks justice served.] ", 40 years ago police killed Joe Campos Torres sparking massive Moody Park Riots. Anyone can read what you share. His body would end up in the Buffalo Bayou, where it was found three days later. Become a member to support the independent voice of Houston 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. Following a month-long trial, an all-white jury convicted Denson and Orlando on a reduced charge of negligent homicidea misdemeanoron October 6. Welcome! View the profiles of people named Terry Denson. The officers on trial, Stephen Orlando, 21 years old, and Terry Denson . | In interviews with members of the Chicano Squad, the podcast shines a light on its predicament. News car burns in background as youths prepare to burn Houston police car on Fulton Street. 1977 - Joe Campos Torres -- his death triggered an outcry from the Mexican-American community about police brutality in Houston. If I didnt tell you that this story took place forty years ago, you might think it had just happened, Alonzo told me. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. (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. The apology to Torres' family was the first by any city official, and Finner promised to work with the family to build a monument in Torres' name. 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.'. Its not uncommon for the stories of Latinos to be minimized or excluded entirely from Texas history books. Torres was 23 on the night of May 5, 1977, when he was arrested for disorderly conduct at a bar, according to reports from the Houston Chronicle at the time. Where's my brother? 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. The people would open their hearts towards us because we were able to communicate with them, Mosqueda says in the podcast. Facebook gives people the power to. When do the clocks change in 2023? Cat Cardenas is a writer focused on culture, entertainment, and the states Latino community. 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. In the wake of Torres's death, frustrated residents of Houston's barrios staged rallies and protests around the city. According to sworn testimony, the officers then spreadeagled the prisoner against a patrol car, and Mr. Denson, after some discussion of what to do with the prisoner, said, Let's see if this wetback can swim. The prosecutors contended that Mr. Denson then pushed Mr. Torres into the bayou. Instead, they returned him to the hole, where they continued to beat him, and where he was either pushed or fell into the bayou. City Employees Are Heading for the Exits. A local boat operator called the police, identifying Torres by the military dog tags still hanging around his neck. 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