A MESS IN TEXAS

In 1999, the tiny town of Tulia, Texas, had fewer than 400 black residents.
In July of that year, 39 of them, along with seven residents who aren't
black, were arrested and booked with drug trafficking offenses.

The suspects were arrested and tried, and 38 of them were found guilty on
the word of one unscrupulous undercover police officer who said he bought
drugs from them.

Officer Tom Coleman claims he worked alone. He did not videotape or
audiotape the alleged transactions. He told jurors that the only notes he
took were the ones he scribbled on his arms and legs. He admitted in court
that he routinely used the word "nigger" to refer to black people.

All the defendants were accused of being drug traffickers, but no drugs, no
weapons and no significant amounts of cash were ever found on any of them.
Even so, 38 of them were sent to prison with sentences of up to 99 years.

In a rare mea culpa, the special prosecutor assigned to the Tulia cases
asked a judge Tuesday to throw out all of the convictions, including those
in which defendants pleaded guilty. It is believed that many pleaded guilty
only after they saw the stiff penalties imposed upon those who went to trial.

"It is stipulated by all parties and approved by the court that Tom Coleman
is simply not a credible witness under oath," said retired state Judge Ron
Chapman as he overturned the convictions Tuesday.

Tom Coleman should have never been hired for the Tulia job. In 1996 he left
a law enforcement job in Cochran County, Texas, in disgrace after he was
charged with theft and abuse of power. Charges were dropped only after he
paid nearly $7,000 in restitution.

Mr. Coleman's former employers described him as unprofessional, a
disciplinary problem and someone who was quick to run to his mother for
help. Despite such criticisms, he was still hired in Tulia. Then the
Panhandle Regional Narcotics Trafficking Task Force chose him to do
undercover operations.

Technically, special prosecutor Rod Hobson could try to bring the
defendants to trial again, but he said, "It would be foolish for us to go
forward." Hooray for common sense.

County commissioners in Swisher County, Texas, have unanimously approved a
payment of $250,000 to be divided among the 38 defendants. Accepting the
money will preclude those people from suing the county and its employees.

Tom Coleman is no longer in law enforcement, which should allow the
citizens of Tulia to breathe much easier, but it's amazing to think that
the Texas Narcotic Control Program actually named him "Outstanding Lawman
of the Year" for his role in the Tulia arrests.

He's obviously no such thing. He's a rogue cop who destroyed the lives of
dozens of people in a way that's ultimately irreparable.