BILL FILED IN RESPONSE TO TULIA DRUG BUST PASSES

AUSTIN - A bill filed in response to a controversial Tulia drug bust has
been signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry. The bill makes public those crimes
proven to be committed by peace officers.

Supporters of the measure say it will go a long way toward preventing
another questionable bust.

In the Tulia case, undercover officer Tom Coleman conducted in 1999 a solo
drug operation that netted the arrests of 43 people - 40 of them black -
raising suspicion the bust was racially motivated. Defense attorneys
learned Coleman had been accused of stealing and misusing county property
when he worked in Cochran County as a deputy sheriff.

Had those records - given to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
Officer Education and Standard - been available, Coleman might not have
been in the position to conduct the bust, supporters of the bill said.

"We think the public has the right to know, as do juries," said Will
Harrell, Texas ACLU executive director. "Most police officers are standup
citizens who are legitimately concerned about law enforcement and public
service. Others are utter scumbags and we think the public needs to know
who they are."

Harrell said cities and their police departments don't want those "bad
actors" in their agencies.

The bill is one of three so-called "Tulia Proposals" drafted by the Texas
chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People.

A bill to limit a judge's discretion on admitting evidence is still pending
in the House and unlikely to pass this session, Harrell said.

Harrell said police had legitimate concerns about how the bill would apply
to other charges, including rape cases. Supporters hope to tighten the
measure and tailor it specifically to narcotics cases, Harrell said.

The third bill, which required corroboration for undercover officers'
testimony, has been fractured into different House and Senate versions.

The Senate altered the bill to address undercover drug informants. The
House bill includes both informants and undercover drug agents who have
been with the department for less than two years.

House sponsor, Rep. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said he intends to agree with
the Senate version of that bill.

The bill opening peace officers' criminal records would rectify much of the
problem Hinojosa wanted to address, he said. Much of the testimony from law
enforcement agencies showed that generally, officers with less than one to
two years with the department aren't conducting undercover drug operations.

Pattie Brookins, mother of Freddie Brookins Jr., said just thinking about
what happened to her son is painful. He is serving a 20-year sentence as a
result of the Tulia drug bust.

"I'm pleased because it will help a lot of people - although it's too late
to help Freddie," she said. "I just can't hardly bear it. Freddie was our
baby. He didn't see color."