AS ONE TULIA DRUG BUST LAWSUIT IS DROPPED, ANOTHER TAKES ITS PLACE

A lawsuit filed Thursday claims law enforcement officials targeted blacks
in a 1999 drug bust in Tulia. At the same time, another suit alleging
similar claims was dropped.

During the drug bust, 43 people were arrested — 40 of them black.

The arrests were based on an 18-month undercover investigation conducted by
officer Tom Coleman, who claimed he bought drugs from those arrested.
Coleman worked alone and used no surveillance equipment.

Billy Wafer, a black man arrested during the bust whose charges later were
dismissed, filed the suit Thursday against Coleman, Swisher County Sheriff
Larry Stewart and Swisher County.

Wafer claims in the suit that the officers "conspired to carry out Swisher
County's policy of eliminating the county's African American population by
having defendant Coleman fabricate false evidence and testimony against
targeted African American citizens of the county."

Stewart referred questions to his Lubbock attorney, Charlotte Bingham. She
said, "We'll continue to defend the sheriff and Swisher County and continue
to deny there was any racial motivation in the prosecution of Mr. Wafer ... "

Coleman could not be reached for comment.

Wafer said he filed the lawsuit in an attempt to get new, fair trials for
those prosecuted after the bust.

"No surveillance was conducted, no videotapes or audiotapes were made, and
no photographs were taken," the lawsuit said.

The suit claims the sheriff was indifferent to Coleman's lack of
qualifications.

"Defendant Stewart knew, or should have known, that defendant Coleman stood
accused by another law enforcement agency of theft and official
misconduct," the suit said.

Coleman was accused of misusing property, fuel and money belonging to
Cochran County while he was employed there as a sheriff's deputy. Coleman
paid about $7,000 in restitution, and the charges against him were dismissed.

While Wafer's lawsuit was filed in district court in Amarillo, another
lawsuit filed there by another black man arrested in the bust was dropped
on Thursday.

Yul Bryant sued Stewart, Coleman and prosecuting attorney Terry McEachern,
claiming they unfairly targeted blacks during the bust.

Charges against Bryant eventually were dropped because Coleman couldn't
positively identify Bryant, the district attorney has said.

Chris Hoffman of Amarillo, the attorney representing Bryant and Wafer, said
Bryant's lawsuit was dropped for personal reasons.

Bingham suggested that Bryant's lawsuit was dropped because it was not
meritorious.

"I disagree with that statement," Hoffman said. "I think there's no
question the allegations in Mr. Bryant's lawsuit were true."

The U.S. Justice Department is conducting an investigation into the
undercover operation.