As Houston remembers the tragic death of Jose "Joe" Campos Torres, a Vietnam veteran who died at the hands of Houston police officers 47 years ago, his family continues to seeks to keep his memory alive. Janie Torres, Joe's sister, has been organizing an annual tribute walk in her brother's memory since 2016. She attaches a sign bearing his portrait to her Jeep and follows what is believed to be the route the police took with Joe after his arrest from an East End bar fight. According to a Houston Chronicle report, this year's memorial was almost canceled due to weather concerns, but friends and fellow activists urged her to continue.
The tribute walk aims not only to honor Joe's memory but also to serve as a reminder of the consequences of police brutality. Jane Torres expressed “Many forget until it happens to them and then they want to say something.” The killing of her brother contributed to igniting riots in Moody Park nearly 50 years ago, and she worries that his death, along with others at the hands of law enforcement, could be forgotten. Joe was denied proper medical treatment when, instead of being brought to a hospital after being badly beaten, he was further beaten and thrown into Buffalo Bayou, a fact Janie Torres painfully recalls.
Joe's story is not one isolated tragedy. According to another sister, Sandra Torres, in an interview with KPRC 2, the impact of his murder was profound, both personally and on broader community-police relations. In a chilling reflection she stated, “And then they said, ‘let’s see if this *** **** could swim?!’ My brother needed care, he fought for his country, and look what they did to him.”
While the initial court outcomes were viewed by many as a miscarriage of justice, with the officers involved receiving probation and minimal fines, the city seems to have taken steps to, at least formally, recognize the wrongs of the past. In 2021, former Houston Police Chief Troy Finner publicly called Joe's death "straight-up murder," and Joe Campos Torres Memorial Plaza was unveiled in April of the same year. "His life mattered, and our city will never let something like this happen again," stated Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner at the dedication of the plaza. Despite such gestures, Torres' family continues to grapple with the loss and the tragic what-ifs—as Sandra Torres tearfully pondered in the KPRC 2 interview, “It means a lot, a lot, a lot; but years later, all these years later. All these years later. I always wonder what life would be like? How would it be? If we had our brother here? If my mom had her son, how would life be?”
