Case file
Killing of José Campos Torres
Documents violence · torture — written to inform, not to shock.
José "Joe" Campos Torres was a 23-year-old Mexican-American Army veteran living in Houston's East End neighborhood. According to Wikipedia's account of his background, Torres had an eighth-grade education, hoped to open a karate school, and had served in the U.S. Army before receiving a general discharge in September 1976 tied to reported struggles with alcohol. Friends and family described him as generally composed when sober but prone to aggression when intoxicated.
On the night of May 5, 1977, Torres was at Club 21, a bar in Houston's predominantly Hispanic East End, wearing his army fatigues and boots. Police arrested him for disorderly conduct. Six responding officers took Torres to a location known as "The Hole," an area behind a warehouse overlooking Buffalo Bayou, and beat him there. Officers then brought him to the city jail, but staff refused to process him because of his injuries. A supervisor ordered that Torres be taken to Ben Taub Hospital for treatment; instead, the officers returned him to "The Hole" and pushed him into the water. His body was recovered three days later, floating in Buffalo Bayou near the 1200 block of Commerce Street in downtown Houston.
Two of the arresting officers, Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando, were charged with murder at the state level. Three other officers were fired from the Houston Police Department by Chief B.G. Bond, though they faced no criminal charges. A rookie officer present during the assault and drowning served as a key prosecution witness. On October 7, 1977, an all-white jury convicted Denson and Orlando only of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor; the judge sentenced them to one year of probation and a one-dollar fine. The verdict and sentence prompted community protests over the racial composition of the jury and the leniency of the punishment.
The U.S. Department of Justice subsequently reviewed the case at the federal level. In 1978, Denson, Orlando, and fired officer Joseph Janish were convicted of federal civil rights violations and served nine months in prison.
On the first anniversary of Torres' death, a riot broke out at Moody Park in Houston's Near Northside neighborhood on the evening of May 7, 1978, after a Cinco de Mayo celebration attended by an estimated five to six thousand people. Following a disorderly conduct call and arrests by police, the crowd began chanting references to Torres' killing and began throwing bottles and rocks; the unrest escalated into looting and arson at a nearby shopping center and the burning of numerous vehicles, including police cars. Property damage was estimated at $500,000, at least 28 people were taken into custody, and fifteen people, including police officers and two news personnel, were hospitalized; none died from their injuries.
In June 2021, then-Houston police chief Troy Finner apologized to the Torres family, describing the killing as "straight-up murder." In April 2022, the city of Houston unveiled the Joe Campos Torres Memorial Plaza and trail along Buffalo Bayou to commemorate Torres and the case's impact on the community.
Key facts
- Victims
- José Campos Torres
- Date
- 1977
- Location
- Buffalo Bayou near 1200 block of Commerce St., Houston, Texas
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1953-12-20
José Campos Torres is born.
1976-09
Torres receives a general discharge from the U.S. Army.
1977-05-05
Torres is arrested for disorderly conduct at Club 21 in Houston and is beaten by officers at a location known as 'The Hole' near Buffalo Bayou; officers later push him into the water instead of taking him to a hospital as ordered.
1977-05-08
Torres' body is found floating in Buffalo Bayou near the 1200 block of Commerce St., Houston.
1977-10-07
Officers Terry W. Denson and Stephen Orlando are convicted at the state level of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, by an all-white jury, and sentenced to one year's probation and a one-dollar fine.
1978
Denson, Orlando, and fired officer Joseph Janish are convicted of federal civil rights violations and serve nine months in prison.
1978-05-07
The Moody Park riot breaks out in Houston on the first anniversary of Torres' killing, following a Cinco de Mayo celebration.
1979-05-15
Contemporaneous news coverage reports on sentencing related to individuals convicted in connection with the 1978 Houston riot.
2021-06
Houston police chief Troy Finner apologizes to the Torres family, calling the killing 'straight-up murder.'
2022-04-02
The city of Houston unveils the Joe Campos Torres Memorial Plaza and trail along Buffalo Bayou.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
José Campos Torres
VICTIM23-year-old Mexican-American Army veteran beaten by Houston police officers and drowned in Buffalo Bayou on May 5, 1977.
citation on file
Joseph Janish
CONVICTEDFired Houston police officer later convicted in 1978 of federal civil rights violations related to Torres' death and served nine months in prison.
citation on file
Stephen Orlando
CONVICTEDHouston police officer convicted at the state level of negligent homicide (misdemeanor) in 1977, sentenced to probation and a one-dollar fine; later convicted in 1978 of federal civil rights violations and served nine months in prison.
citation on file
Terry W. Denson
CONVICTEDHouston police officer convicted at the state level of negligent homicide (misdemeanor) in 1977, sentenced to probation and a one-dollar fine; later convicted in 1978 of federal civil rights violations and served nine months in prison.
citation on file
Troy Finner
LAW ENFORCEMENTHouston police chief who apologized to the Torres family in June 2021, calling the killing 'straight-up murder.'
citation on file
B.G. Bond
LAW ENFORCEMENTHouston Police Chief who fired three officers involved in the incident, though they faced no criminal charges.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- José "Joe" Campos Torres, a 23-year-old Mexican-American Army veteran, died in May 1977 after Houston police officers beat him and pushed him into Buffalo Bayou following a disorderly conduct arrest. Two officers were convicted only of misdemeanor negligent homicide at the state level, sparking outrage and the 1978 Moody Park riot; three officers were later convicted federally of civil rights violations.
- Where did the killing happen?
- Buffalo Bayou near 1200 block of Commerce St., Houston, Texas.
- Who was convicted?
- Joseph Janish (Fired Houston police officer later convicted in 1978 of federal civil rights violations related to Torres' death and served nine months in prison.), Stephen Orlando (Houston police officer convicted at the state level of negligent homicide (misdemeanor) in 1977, sentenced to probation and a one-dollar fine; later convicted in 1978 of federal civil rights violations and served nine months in prison.), and Terry W. Denson (Houston police officer convicted at the state level of negligent homicide (misdemeanor) in 1977, sentenced to probation and a one-dollar fine; later convicted in 1978 of federal civil rights violations and served nine months in prison.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
Sources
- Killing of José Campos Torreswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
- 2 Who Incited '78 Houston Riot Fined, Put on 5-Year Probationnews · The Washington Post · 2026-07-05
- Contemporaneous coverage of the José Campos Torres casenews · TIME · 2026-07-05
Last verified JUL 2026
