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  89R1797 CW-D     By: Morales of Harris H.R. No. 9       R E S O L U T I O N          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.