'This was straight up murder': Houston police chief apologizes for 1977 killing of Vietnam vet by five cops who were either not charged or fined $1

Houston's police chief has publicly apologized to the family of a man killed by six officers more than four decades ago, calling it a 'straight-up murder.'

Chief Troy Finner issued the apology on Sunday to the family of Joe Campos Torres, a Mexican-American Vietnam War veteran, who was beaten to death and his body dumped in the Buffalo Bayou by Houston police officers in 1977.

Five of the officers were charged in the death, with two convicted of negligent homicide, and the other three convicted of violating Torres' civil rights. 

'I am the chief of police, but I am a son of Houston, and what people need to understand is if you cannot see and feel 44 years of pain and suffering of this family, you're not human,' Finner said. 

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner apologized to the family of Joe Campos Torres for his death in 1977 in Houston police custody, calling it 'straight-up murder'

Torres, a US Army Vietnam veteran, was 23 when he was arrested on May 5, 1977 for disorderly conduct at a bar, and beaten. His body would end up in the Buffalo Bayou, where it was found three days later 

The apology to Torres' family was the first by any city official, and Finner promised to work with the family to build a monument in Torres' name.

'Let's get this clear because there's been some chatter in the neighborhoods how Chief Finner feels about this,' he said of Torres' death, 'and that is straight-up murder of somebody. You've got five officers sworn to protect, five, sworn to protect and serve and murdered an active military soldier,' 

Surviving members of Torres' family also spoke on Sunday.

Torres' nephew, Richard Molina, said the family is in communication with the city to find a proper way to memorialize his uncle.

'Our ultimate goal is humanizing our uncle at this point. We want to let the people know what kind of person he was and what he meant to my family,' Molina said. 

'My mother was never the same after Jose was killed,' his sister Janie Torres, who was 10 at the time her brother's death, said. 'I will never be the same, my family will never be the same. This has destroyed all of us. The pain is a lot deeper than what you could have ever imagined.' 

Torres' sister Janie said she was 10 at the time of her brother's death and that her family was never the same. City officials vowed to memorialize Torres in some way

The worst thing for her, she said was that, 'No matter how many apologies we get, it can never change the fact because Joe, at the end, never got justice.' 

None of the officers involved in the death served jail time, and the two convicted of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, were fined $1 and sentenced to probation.  

Torres was 23 on the night of May 5, 1977, when he was arrested for disorderly conduct at a bar, according to reports from the Houston Chronicle at the time.

The arresting officers took him to a place dubbed 'the hole,' an area behind a warehouse along the Buffalo Bayou, and beat him before taking Torres to the city jail. 

Officials at the jail refused to book Torres due to his injuries, and told the officers to bring him to a hospital. 

Torres' death and the light punishment the officers involved received would spark the infamous Moody Park riot one year later. 

Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel

Instead, they returned him to the hole, where they continued to beat him, and where he was either pushed or fell into the bayou.

His body was found by a boater three days later.

His death and the light punishment the officers received would spark the infamous Moody Park Riot one year later.

Rioters looted and set fire to a shopping center, and fifteen people were injured including five police officers and two news personnel. 

Sunday's formal apology comes after Finner and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner met privately with Torres' family over Memorial Day weekend, but wanted to make a public showing ABC 13 reported.