Bill Text: TX HR9 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Commemorating the 48th anniversary of the death of Joe Campos Torres of Houston.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-02-19 - Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs [HR9 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HR9-Introduced.html
| 89R1797 CW-D | ||
| By: Morales of Harris | H.R. No. 9 | |
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| WHEREAS, May 5, 2025, marks the 48th anniversary of the | ||
| tragic death of Joe Campos Torres, a 23-year-old military veteran | ||
| who was brutally killed by Houston police officers; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The son of Joe Luna Torres and Margaret Campos | ||
| Torres, Joe Torres was born in Houston on December 20, 1953; | ||
| answering his nation's call to duty, he joined the U.S. Army in 1974 | ||
| and served in the Vietnam War; upon the completion of his military | ||
| tenure in 1976, he returned home and began working for the Houston | ||
| Sash & Door Company; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On the fateful day of May 5, 1977, Mr. Torres was | ||
| arrested after an altercation at a local bar; rather than taking him | ||
| to the city jail, police officers transported Mr. Torres to a | ||
| secret location along Buffalo Bayou where he was severely beaten; | ||
| ultimately, he was pushed into the bayou, where he drowned; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The murder of Mr. Torres galvanized the Mexican | ||
| American community, igniting a lengthy period of protest marked by | ||
| marches and rallies throughout the city; activists came together to | ||
| form multiracial and multigenerational civil rights coalitions, | ||
| and such entities as Barrios Unidos en Defensa, the League of United | ||
| Latin American Citizens, the American G.I. Forum, and the Mexican | ||
| American Legal Defense and Educational Fund lent their support to | ||
| the cause; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In June 2021, the Houston Police Department issued a | ||
| formal apology to the Torres family and promised that a monument | ||
| would be erected in Mr. Torres's honor; on April 2, 2022, the City | ||
| of Houston held a dedication ceremony for the Joe Campos Torres | ||
| Plaza in downtown Houston; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Although nearly five decades have passed since the | ||
| senseless death of Joe Torres, this heartbreaking tragedy continues | ||
| to resonate throughout the community of Houston and beyond, and | ||
| civil rights advocates and Mr. Torres's family remain committed to | ||
| the fight against racial discrimination and injustice; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life and service of Joe Campos | ||
| Torres on the 48th anniversary of his death. | ||
