Solidarity walk honors memory of Joe Campos Torres, man killed by HPD officers on Cinco de Mayo
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The family of a man fatally beaten by Houston police 41 years ago is honoring his memory on the anniversary of his death.
It was May 5, 1977, that Joe Campos Torres was brutally beaten by a Houston police after being arrested for disorderly conduct at a bar in the East End.
Instead of being booked right away, Torres was taken to a place some officers knew as "the hole."
"They would take prisoners there that they weren't necessarily looking to book, but take them there to 'teach them lessons,'" said Richard Molina, the nephew of Torres. "They attempted to book him into city jail (after the beating)."
However, his injuries were too severe, and the jailer would not take him in.
"Instead of taking him to the hospital, they took him back to the hole," he said. "At which point they threw him into the bayou."
Torres was pushed off a platform falling 20 feet into the bayou reportedly with handcuffs.
RELATED: 41 years later: Remembering Joe Campos Torres' death by HPD officers that sparked Moody Park riots
"It was on Mother's Day they discovered his body," Molina said.
Of the six officers that killed Torres, only two were found guilty of negligent homicide. They were sentenced to one-year probation and a $1 fine. This shook the Hispanic community.
In 1978, on the one-year anniversary of Torres' beating and death, riots erupted at Moody Park between the community and Houston police.
"It's upsetting still to this day," Molina said.
For the last three years, Torres' family has held a solidarity walk in his memory on Cinco de Mayo, the anniversary of his beating death to keep his memory alive and stand up against police brutality.
