CONCLUSION
The Houston Police Department was aggressive and brutal. In error, the police blamed liberals, communists, radicals, and revolutionaries (minorities) for society's new intolerance for the bad behavior their actions confirmed. Signifying the new fortitude, the nation's highest court, the Supreme Court, began to affirm individual and civil rights by its rulings, thus fueling rapid change in the social landscape of the country. In Houston, the TSU Riots set the stage for what was to come. It produced a will of self-determinism within the African-American community. Carl Hampton's murder and its impact helped to lay the groundwork for change. Each incident inspired the African-American community to gain local and state political positions. The "throw down" scandals had resulted in the mistrust of the police and their questionable integrity from white suburbia as much as the minorities.
Next, just like the TSU riots and Hampton murder, the Campos Torres killing and Moody Riots created political organization and gains in the Mexican-American community. This latest injustice added an asset to the civil rights' fight by combining the forces of the African and Mexican-American communities into a cohesive faction. After Campos Torres and the Moody Riots, Chief Caldwell implemented a permanent Internal Affairs Division within the department. Questions about police culpability for their actions and the use of deadly force were redefined and backed by state law as allowable only if lives were in danger.
With each episode, media had created more public awareness and scrutiny by federal crime commissions and the FBI. This examination would facilitate the eventual structural change within the Houston Police Department. Police reform became the best campaign issue in the city's history. This culminated in the election of a woman, Katherine Whitemire, as mayor, and the first African-American police chief, Lee P. Brown, in Houston. Dwight Watson commented, "These elections symbolized the beginning of the demise of the status quo, traditionalism, and racism." Unfortunately, the total eradication has not been complete as evidenced by the Clarence Brandley and Delaney/Gillum incidents. Therefore, it is imperative that these lessons in history not be forgotten and that society's vigilance and efforts remain in full force in defiance of injustice.
The Houston Police Department was aggressive and brutal. In error, the police blamed liberals, communists, radicals, and revolutionaries (minorities) for society's new intolerance for the bad behavior their actions confirmed. Signifying the new fortitude, the nation's highest court, the Supreme Court, began to affirm individual and civil rights by its rulings, thus fueling rapid change in the social landscape of the country. In Houston, the TSU Riots set the stage for what was to come. It produced a will of self-determinism within the African-American community. Carl Hampton's murder and its impact helped to lay the groundwork for change. Each incident inspired the African-American community to gain local and state political positions. The "throw down" scandals had resulted in the mistrust of the police and their questionable integrity from white suburbia as much as the minorities.
Next, just like the TSU riots and Hampton murder, the Campos Torres killing and Moody Riots created political organization and gains in the Mexican-American community. This latest injustice added an asset to the civil rights' fight by combining the forces of the African and Mexican-American communities into a cohesive faction. After Campos Torres and the Moody Riots, Chief Caldwell implemented a permanent Internal Affairs Division within the department. Questions about police culpability for their actions and the use of deadly force were redefined and backed by state law as allowable only if lives were in danger.
With each episode, media had created more public awareness and scrutiny by federal crime commissions and the FBI. This examination would facilitate the eventual structural change within the Houston Police Department. Police reform became the best campaign issue in the city's history. This culminated in the election of a woman, Katherine Whitemire, as mayor, and the first African-American police chief, Lee P. Brown, in Houston. Dwight Watson commented, "These elections symbolized the beginning of the demise of the status quo, traditionalism, and racism." Unfortunately, the total eradication has not been complete as evidenced by the Clarence Brandley and Delaney/Gillum incidents. Therefore, it is imperative that these lessons in history not be forgotten and that society's vigilance and efforts remain in full force in defiance of injustice.