A&E will chronicle the exploits of a Houston-based, all-Latin homicide unit in a new documentary series, The Chicano Squad.
The four-hour series will follow the groundbreaking team of bilingual patrol officers who were promoted to detectives dedicated to tackling Houston’s soaring rate of Latin homicide cases in 1979, said A&E officials.
According to the network, decades of disregard and corruption inside the Houston Police Department led to widespread police brutality and hundreds of unsolved homicides in the city’s Latin neighborhoods. One officer, Jim Montero, had a vision to form a unit uniquely designed to solve them, so he and five bilingual Mexican American department rookies were given 90 days to solve all open Latin murder cases, regain the trust of the community and assist in any new crimes involving Spanish-speaking people.
“The Chicano Squad were a groundbreaking ground breaking group of law enforcement officers who broke down barriers and served their community with distinction,” A&E executive VP and head of programming Elaine Frontain Bryant said in a statement. “This documentary will tell the untold story of the Chicano Squad, from their humble beginnings to their trailblazing work building trust between the police and the communities they served.”
The Chicano Squad is executive produced by Patrick Reardon, Brian Nashel, Eric Wetherington, Lawrence Bender, Kevin Kelly Brown, Sergio Selvera, Nancy De Los Santos and Mario Diaz.
