HOUSTON -- The place was Moody Park on Houston’s near north side.

The date was May 7, 1978.

That’s the day when Cinco de Mayo celebrations erupted in chaos.

Buildings were burned, car windows smashed and a driver in a yellow car ran down Houston Police Officer Tommy Britt.

“He swerved, clipped me, rolled me over the top of the car,” said Britt, who is now retired.

“It looked worse than it turned out to be. I was not hurt. It could have been really bad, turned out I wasn’t hurt that bad,” said Britt.

He suffered a broken leg.

The rioting was fueled by simmering tensions between police and the Hispanic Community. It all centered over profiling and harassment.

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The fuse had been lit a year earlier in May 1977, with the  case of Joe Campos Torres.

The 23-year-old Vietnam Veteran had been arrested at an Eastside bar for disorderly conduct.

Six police officers took Torres to a spot called “The Hole” next to Buffalo Bayou and beat him.

The officers then took Torres to the city jail, where they were ordered to take him to the hospital.

But instead of taking Torres to the hospital like they were told, the officers brought him back to the banks of Buffalo Bayou, where he either jumped or was pushed into the water.

Torres’ body was found two days later.

“Now here you have somebody fighting and trying to protect our country. He comes home and loses his life at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect us,” said Johnny Mata of LULAC.

Prosecutors believed Torres was pushed.

Officers Terry Denson and Steven Orlando were tried on state murder charges. They were convicted of negligent homicide and got one year probation.

Denson, Orlando and Officer Joseph Janish were later convicted of federal civil rights violations. They served only nine months in prison.

The sentences were the final match to a powder keg that exploded in Moody Park.

“Even though it was 30 years, I didn’t think I was going to get emotional, at that time I felt for the parents,” said Mamie Garcia of LULAC.

Today, Moody Park is a tranquil place, and relations between the community and police have dramatically improved.

Officer Tommy Britt retired from the force in January.

Ironically, his last beat was in the Moody Park neighborhood.

He calls it a great place to work.

That is a testament to 30 years of healing.

Joe Campos Torres’ father filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against the City of Houston after his son was killed.

The family settled out of court in 1987 for $75,000 dollars.