TULIA MAN'S CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT NETS SETTLEMENT

A civil rights lawsuit filed in February by one of 46 people arrested in a
controversial 1999 drug sting in Tulia has been settled, but terms of the
settlement were not available Friday.

Attorneys for plaintiff Billy Wafer and defendants Tom Coleman, Swisher
County Sheriff Larry Stewart and Swisher County reached a settlement in
Wafer's lawsuit and the case was dismissed from U.S. District Court,
according to court records.

Swisher County Judge Harold Keeter said Friday he couldn't comment on the
terms of the agreement because the county had yet to receive documents
detailing the terms of the settlement. Keeter was able to say that the
plaintiffs admitted no wrongdoing and agreed to the settlement on the
advice of attorneys.

"The Texas Association of Counties risk management pool recommended we make
this agreement, and we thought it was best for everyone involved to agree,"
Keeter said.

Jeff Blackburn, one of Wafer's attorneys, said he could not comment on
details of the agreement because of a no-comment clause in the settlement.

Wafer was one of 46 people -- 39 of whom are black -- indicted in 1999
after a 1-year investigation by undercover agent Coleman. The arrests and
subsequent trials generated a firestorm of controversy that pushed Tulia
into the national spotlight as a battleground in the fight over the
country's drug policy.

Wafer was charged with delivery of a controlled substance in the sting. The
charges against him were tossed out later by the 7th Court of Appeals.

Wafer filed the lawsuit alleging that his civil rights were violated by
Swisher County, Stewart and Coleman.