THE TULIA, TEXAS SCANDAL - By Rachael Bell
Obwon
THE TULIA, TEXAS SCANDAL
By Rachael Bell
http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/tom_coleman/
The Tulia Sting
[image]
Texas map with Tulia marked
The nightmare began in the early morning hours of
July 23, 1999. Before dawn, Tulia, Texas, police
arrested 46 men and women in the biggest drug bust
in Swisher County's history. The "Tulia 46," as they
became known, were rousted from their beds in the
before dawn and taken to jail while still in their
pajamas.
Thirty-nine of those arrested were black, approximately
10 percent of Tulia's small, black population. The
remaining seven were whites and Hispanics who had ties
to the black community. From the beginning the families
of the defendants believed that the drug bust was
racially motivated. They just couldn't prove it, at
least not yet.
[image]
Tom Coleman
However, Tom Coleman, the agent who single-handedly
carried out the 18-month sting, vehemently denied race
had anything to do with the takedown. According to
Leeann Kossey's I-Team Interview, Coleman, 42, said
that he wasn't prejudiced against black people, "or any
other origin of person." He claimed he was just doing
his job, that of weeding out the town's criminal
element.
[image]
Sheriff Larry Stewart
Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart and Lt. Mike Amos
of the Panhandle Regional Narcotics Task Force hired
Coleman in January 1998 to conduct an undercover drug
operation. In preparation for the sting, he assumed a
new identity by growing his hair long, changing his
style of dress from clean-cut cowboy to biker and using
the alias T.J. Dawson. He then set about going
undercover in the town's poor black community.
While incognito, Coleman claimed that he was able to
gain the trust and friendship of many within Tulia's
black population. According to Tom Mongold's article
"The Rogue Cop of Tulia, Texas," Coleman suggested that
some actually felt comfortable enough with him that
they sold him drugs, such as cocaine and crack, when he
said he wanted to get high. Mongold said that he used
the clever excuse of being on probation and subject to
urine tests to avoid taking drugs in front of people.
Every time Coleman scored a bag of powdered cocaine or
other drug, he would turn it into his superiors who
then gave him money to make more drug buys. In total,
Coleman claimed to have made more than 100 purchases
from Tulia residents. The sting eventually earned
Coleman an award for "Outstanding Lawman of the Year"
and most of the town's white citizens hailed him as a
hero.
However, the town's black community was devastated by
the arrests. Most of "Tulia's 46" received extremely
harsh sentences ranging from three to 434 years in
prison. According to Nate Blakeslee's article "Color of
Justice," "the disproportionate number of
African-Americans targeted by the operation" led to an
NAACP investigation of the cases. Moreover, defense
attorneys representing those convicted, conducted their
own investigation into Coleman's background. What they
learned was surprising.
Details emerged that Coleman's investigative methods
were at least highly dubious. Moreover, his credibility
was also thrown into question when it was learned that
he had a criminal history and a reputation as a liar
and bigot. Civil rights activists believed that the
sting operation led by Coleman was in fact a scheme to
rid the community of the black population. The more
informed people became about Coleman, the sting and the
trials of those arrested, the more it became
increasingly clear that Tulia had a huge scandal on
their hands.
CHAPTERS
1. The Tulia Sting
2. Tom Coleman
3. Trials and Tribulations
4. The Campaign
5. The Hearing
6. Justice At Last
7. Bibliography
8. The Author
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Liars share with those they deceive
the desire not to be deceived.
--Sissela Bok
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