Groundbreaking bilingual officers promoted to Detectives in 1979 tackle Houston's rising Latin homicide cases. Dubbed "T | dHNfMjloQ3VmME5yNVk
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00:00In the 1970s, Houston was known as the murder capital of the nation.
00:04The cases would sit there, unsolved.
00:06The Hispanic community didn't trust the police officers.
00:09Let's get officers that speak Spanish and start a special squad.
00:12This is really the first fully bilingual Spanish-speaking detective squad in the country.
00:16They said it was going to be for 90 days.
00:18If it doesn't work out, everybody's going back to patrol.
00:22We had to prove ourselves.
00:23It was sink or swim.
00:26We're talking murders, robberies, extortion, rapes, kidnappings, all these other types of cases.
00:32In only three months, the Chicano squad cleared 40 homicides.
00:36I was surprised how popular we became.
00:38Even the criminals liked us.
00:41When the drugs came in, everything started changing.
00:44They were dangerous.
00:46Heavily armed.
00:47We couldn't believe what we were seeing.
00:48I didn't know Houston was that violent.
00:51The Chicano squad had an impossible job to do.
00:54The Chicano squad.
00:55Tonight's event premieres Labor Day at 9, only on A&E.