KPRC Newsmen Injured During Moody Park Riot (1978)

In this unedited footage from Houston’s KPRC-TV, newsman Jack Cato recounts how he and cameraman Phil Archer were injured during the Moody Park Riot on May 7, 1978. On the evening of May 7, a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Moody Park erupted into riots. Tensions were running high between law enforcement and the Mexican-American community in the wake of the police-involved death of José Campos Torres the previous year. The situation escalated as more officers in riot gear arrived on the scene. Stores across a 10-block area around Fulton Street were looted and set on fire, while an officer suffered a broken leg after being struck by a car. According to Cato, he and Archer were attempting to photograph a city vehicle set ablaze when they found themselves surrounding by a group of hostile individuals. Cato was struck on the head with a brick before being stabbed on his backside. Archer was also beaten and stabbed. The two were hospitalized in satisfactory condition.