U.S.- The city of Houston will build a monument in memory of José “Joe” Campos Torres, who was assassinated by officers of the local Police Department in 1977 in a case that generated strong protests from the Mexican-American community across the country at the time.
The Texas city and the war veteran’s family reached an agreement to put the name of the Latino to a square in Houston and erect a monument in the place where the Hispanic died.
Margaret Campos Torres, mother of José, said in statements published this Tuesday by the newspaper “Houston Chronicle” that “finally” this recognition will take place, whose announcement comes after last summer the Local Police Department officially apologized to the family.
Read more: Offers in theaters, hotels and restaurants in New York “winter campaign”
“I hope there is no more (police) brutality, no more people are beaten or killed,” said the mother of this veteran of Mexican origin who was 23 years old when he died.
For his part, Richard Molina, nephew of the passed away, told the digital media Axios that the family had been waiting for this recognition by local authorities for four decades.
The family has fought for years for this recognition to serve as a reminder of cases of excessive violence by the police.
Campos Torres, a veteran of the Vietnam War, was in a bar in houston when he was arrested for alleged disorderly conduct.
Instead of being transferred to jail, six police officers took the Hispanic to a lonely area near the Buffalo Bayou swamp, where for several hours he was beaten.
Later, Campos Torres was taken to the city jail, but the officials refused to receive him due to his condition and ordered him to be admitted to a hospital.
However, the police officers decided to return the Hispanic back to the place where they had beaten him. Campos Torres was pushed off a raised platform and fell 20 feet (6 meters) into the swamp, where his body was found three days later.
Of the six officers, initially only officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were charged with murder.
An all-white jury convicted them of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and sentenced them to one year of probation and a $1 fine.
One year after the death of Campos Torres, for the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the Latino community of Houston was raised in a protest that left more than 40 people detained.
Three officers were ultimately convicted of federal civil rights violations in 1978 and served nine months in prison.
Read more: Six Indonesian women found drowned off the coast of Malaysia
apologies from himto Houston Police and the announcement of the monument arrive in a moment in which cities across the country are trying to tackle what many see as systemic racism in their law enforcement agencies toward minorities.
Video: Woman threw her newborn baby into a dumpster
Source-www.debate.com.mx