February 24, 2002

State of Texas

As per our discussion in the LULAC District meeting, on February 23, 2002, at the University of Houston, concerning a peaceful nonviolent candle light vigil for Luis Torres who died while in the custody of the Baytown Police Department, several suggestions could be considered.

• A candle light vigil in front of Guadalupe Plaza on Jensen Drive around 7:00 P.M. next Friday, March 1, 2002
• A candle light vigil and march from the site of the death in Baytown to the police department around 7:00 P.M. next Friday, March 1, 2002
• A candle light vigil and March from the site of the death in Baytown to City Hall around 7:00 P.M. next Friday, March 1, 2002
• A candle light vigil in front of Harris County Criminal Court
• Meeting with the Mayor of Baytown on the site of the candle light vigil
• Meeting with the Harris County District Attorney Office, Monday 4, 2002
• Schedule meeting with FBI
• Schedule meeting with Mexican Consul General
• Schedule meetings with other civil rights groups such as NAACP, ACLU, Immigrants organizations, Asian civil rights organizations and others

Feb. 22, 2002, 10:30PM

Baytown chief backs officers in fatal fight
Videotape catches scuffle with man

By CINDY HORSWELL
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

Baytown's interim police chief defended his officers' conduct in a struggle that led to a man's death, despite a homicide ruling from the Harris County medical examiner.

Chief Byron Jones on Friday said a police videotape of the Jan. 20 incident shows that the three officers involved did not use excessive force in subduing Luis Torres on a Baytown street.

But Harris County Medical Examiner Dr. Joye Carter ruled that Torres, a 45-year-old Mexican, died from "mechanical asphyxia" with blunt-impact trauma.

"This is not an `accidental' ruling," said Carter. "It is our medical opinion that someone is responsible here for another person's death. But that does not mean the courts or grand jury will agree with us."

Sgt. Rodney Evans, a 12-year veteran of the force, and patrolmen Bert Dillow and Micah Aldred, both four-year veterans have been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Carter, who plans to release a detailed autopsy report next week, said "mechanical asphyxiation" means depriving someone of the ability to breathe by compressing the airway or chest.

"That means more than just blocking his nose and mouth," she said. "In this case, it could have happened when piling onto someone's chest, preventing it from going up and down. There were also some bruises to the neck and some injury to the airways."

Michael Solar, attorney for Torres' relatives, scoffed at Jones' interpretation of the video.

"Whenever you have as many blows to the head as I saw in the postmortem photos, it could hardly be considered an accident," he said.

Torres lived in Jalisco, but he had a green card and had worked in the United States for more than 25 years, Solar said. He was visiting relatives in Baytown on his way to Kansas City, Mo., where he planned to work on a

construction job with his youngest son, the attorney said.
He became ill with symptoms of hypertension and was treated at a hospital twice in the days before the fatal incident, Solar said.  He said he had not yet determined what medication Torres may have been given.

On the night of his death, Torres began feeling "nervous and anxious and out of sorts," said his brother, Jose, of Baytown. He said he called the city's emergency medical service.

Jones said Jose Torres remarked later in TV interviews that his brother had been behaving erratically and feared that passing cars were after him. He said Luis Torres ran away when ambulance personnel tried to examine him.

Police were called to help subdue him. Solar said the officers drew their guns as Torres fled.

"His brother told police that weapons were unnecessary because he was unarmed and ill," Solar said. "But the police told him not to worry about it. It was their problem now, that they would take care of it and go find him."

Jones said a medical technician had reported seeing a shiny object that might be a gun in Torres' hand. Solar said the object probably was Torres' billfold, which he tried to give to his brother.

Aldred and Dillow found Torres near South Main and tried to determine whether he was intoxicated, but he kept talking and an ambulance and tried to walk away, the chief said.

Solar said that the autopsy found no evidence of drugs or alcohol in Torres' system. No weapon was found.

The officers struggled with Torres and used pepper spray before handcuffing him, with help from Reynolds, Jones said. The struggle was recorded by a camera mounted on the dashboard of a patrol car, he said, adding that the tape shows the officers using tactics that fit within normal protocol.

As police procedure requires, emergency medical workers were called to flush the pepper spray from Torres' eyes. They were about to leave when the officers noticed that he had stopped breathing, Jones said.

The medical technicians tried to resuscitate him and rushed him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Jones said no excessive force is apparent on the video. "It just looks like they're trying to wrestle a guy that's stiffened up, and that is hard to do," he said. "You can see them trying to get his hands behind him once, and hit
his torso four times for pain compliance."

"Another time, Torres is on top of an officer and holding his leg, and you can't see anything but the officer, and he may be hitting (Torres') face," 

Jones said. "But that's about it. It's over in several minutes."

He said the officers are "upset and confused" about the death.

"We use these techniques to take someone to the ground and get them handcuffed, but this case is totally different because someone died," Jones said. "That normally doesn't happen."

Solar said, however, that he expects the medical examiner's report to reflect events different from the police account.

Torres' family -- including his wife, in Mexico, and their three grown children -- will not be satisfied until they know what happened that night, Solar said.

Harris County assistant District Attorney Vic Wisner said he hopes to present the case to a grand jury within a month."It's not as difficult as some cases because the entire incident is clearly captured on videotape," Wisner said. "We are concerned and interested in what the medical examiner, who has also reviewed the tape, will say about it."

Officials with the League of United Latin American Citizens called Friday for a full investigation, and warned that anything less could lead to unrest in the Latino community.

LULAC leaders compared Torres to other Latinos who have died at the hands of area police, including Pedro Oregon and Jose Campos Torres.

Oregon was shot by Houston police who entered his apartment without a warrant in 1998. Jose Campos Torres drowned in 1977 after being beaten by Houston police and thrown into Buffalo Bayou while handcuffed. That incident led to a riot a year
later, after the officers convicted of the beating received light sentences.

"We don't want another riot to start because of what happened to this man here," said LULAC district director Mary Ramos.
 
 

Hispanic community rallies in support

By Matthew Cook
The Baytown Sun

Published March 04, 2002

HOUSTON — Ruben DeHoyos, president of the Baytown Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, spoke out Sunday against the in-custody death of Luis Torres during a candlelight vigil held in support of the Torres family.

“We in the Hispanic community of Baytown are deeply concerned and highly critical of the actions of the Baytown Police Department,” DeHoyos said. “We have viewed the videotape and we have found that the events that led up to the death of Mr. Torres showed clearly that the police used excessive force.”

DeHoyos said he was working with other community leaders to establish a citizens’ commission to investigate Torres’ death.

Torres, 45, died Jan. 20 after he was wrestled to the ground, pepper sprayed and struck by three Baytown police officers. The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide due to “mechanical asphyxia with blunt impact trauma.”

More than 60 members of the Hispanic community and several civil rights organizations rallied together at a candlelight vigil hosted by The League of United Latin American Citizens. The event was held at the Teatro Bilingue, next to Guadelupe Plaza in Houston.

Baytown City Councilman Mercedes Renteria also attended the event, but did not address the audience. He said he came to pay his respects to the Torres family.

“I’m very concerned about the way the whole situation was handled,” he said. “What crime did this man commit? Is it against the law to walk down the street?” Renteria said he felt the situation was handled poorly. “I think there is a need in Baytown to hire a police chief that is sensitive to the cultural needs and diversity of Baytown,” he said.

Baytown Police Chief Byron Jones has said the officers acted according to proper procedures and did not use excessive force. Jones has said he does not anticipate any charges being filed.

Sgt. Rodney Evans and Officers Burt Dillow and Micah Aldred remain on administrative leave with pay.

A choir performed songs in English and in Spanish. A copy of the police video showing Torres’ arrest was shown to a crowd of approximately 60 people. Some members of the audience wept as the video played.
Police officers were called to the 200 block of South Main for a public intoxication call. The video shows that Torres appears calm. Once the officers learn that he may be armed, based on an earlier call, they wrestle him to the ground.

In the video, officers can bee seen striking Torres with their fists. One officer can be seen kneeling on Torres’ neck hold him down. It is unclear when the pepper spray is used.

The stage at the Teatro Bilingue was adorned with placards reading, “Homicide is murder! Bring the cops to justice!!!” and “Luis Torres did not deserve to die.” One sign featured post-mortem photographs of a badly bruised Torres and the words, “Is this resisting arrest or police brutality?”

Monsignor Frank Rossi opened the event with a prayer, where he asked for consolation to the Torres family and justice for Torres.

“Guide our governmental officials as they look into the death of Mr. Torres,” he said.

LULAC spokesman Johnny Mata called Torres’ death “brutal and unnecessary.”

“The Latino community is horrified,” he said. “These acts must be carefully examined,” he said. “If they are deemed to be criminal, justice demands that they be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Torres’ brother, Jose Torres, spoke to the crowd in Spanish. According to Mata, he expressed gratitude to the community for their support and said he hopes this situation never happens to anyone of any nationality. Yolanda Smith, executive director of the NAACP’s Houston chapter, attended the rally to express support for LULAC and the Hispanic community.

“This is not just a civil rights issue; it is a human rights issue,” she said. “This not an accident. We need the entire city of Houston to be upset about this death.”One woman drove from Katy to attend the event. Criselda Aldape said her brother died last month under un-explained circumstances while working with police. She said that watching the video made her question the nature of her brother’s death.

“It makes me wonder how my brother went down,” she said.

Mata said the issue does not concern police in general or the Baytown Police Department, but rather the officers involved in the incident.

“There are many good men and women in law enforcement that risk their lives to protect us,” he said. “We appreciate the daily sacrifices they make to protect our lives.”

The incident is being investigated by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI. A Harris County grand jury is expected to hear the case within the next few weeks.