This happens over and over again.
Cops killing people over minor infractions.
Running away is NOT justification for beating anyone EVER!
In this case, Black cops beat a young black man to death.
Yet White cops beat to death a LOT more nationwide
Nothing has changed in over 50 years.
Nothing has changed in over 100 years.
Abusive cops killing citizens for minor offenses.
July 1973, The murder Santos Rodriguez,
Murdered by Dallas cop. Cop put a gun to the young kid’s head
And pulled the trigger.
May 1977, The Murder of Jose Campos Torres by Houston police.
Veteran Beaten by Houston cops, thrown in Buffalo Bayou,
Or forced to jump by cops
(Texas Monthly has an excellent report on this murder, but it’s behind a Pay Wall)
https://chicanapormiraza.org/content/death-joe-torres-continued-fight-against-police-brutality
The Death of Joe Torres & the Continued Fight Against Police Brutality
This Historia was researched and created by CPMR Intern Taylor Davidson.
Jose “Joe” Campos Torres was born on December 20, 1953 and died tragically on May 5, 1977. The 23-year-old’s death sparked outrage throughout Houston, Texas where it occurred. Torres, a Mexican-American and Vietnam War veteran, was dressed in his Army fatigues at a bar in a Hispanic neighborhood when he was arrested for disorderly conduct [1]. He had gotten into a fight with another man in the bar, and the bar’s owner called the police [2]. Six police officers took Torres to “The Hole,” a place where police were known to beat Mexicans and other minorities [2]. There, the young man was severely beaten before officers attempted to take him to the city jail. The jail, however, refused to accept Torres because of his serious injuries and demanded that he be taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. Torres was never taken to the hospital. Two days later, his body was found in Buffalo Bayou, a slow-moving river that runs through Houston. The officers reportedly shouted racial slurs as they pushed the handcuffed young man into the river [2].
Two of the officers, Terry Denson and and Steven Orlando, were convicted of negligent homicide, a less serious charge than first or second degree murder, and rather than serving jail time, they received one year of probation and paid a $1 fine [3]. The following year, Denson, Orlando, and another officer, Joseph Janish, served short prison terms after being convicted of federal civil rights violations [3]. The lack of justice for Jose Torres led to even more distrust of police in the Mexican American community. Almost exactly a year later, during a Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 7, 1978 riots erupted in Moody Park. Fifteen people were reportedly injured during these riots and dozens were arrested [1]. The Moody Park riots also resulted in “hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage to businesses and police vehicles,” and fortunately, serious police reforms [4].
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