ACLU CALLING FOR END TO DRUG TASK FORCES

AUSTIN - The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has released a
report calling for an end to the state's $200 million regional
narcotics task force system."After 15 years of operation, it is clear
that these task forces are a failed experiment that have filled Texas
prisons with nonviolent offenders, many of them African American, and
tainted Texas law enforcement with scandal," said Will Harrell,
executive director of ACLU of Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry's office distributes funding for the task force
through his criminal justice division. Spokeswoman Kathy Walt said
Perry believes the program is worthwhile and funding for it will continue.

"The governor believes the state has a legitimate interest in
addressing illicit drug activity in the state," Walt said.

In its report, the ACLU cited an 18-month undercover narcotics
investigation in Tulia, in which 46 people, 39 of whom were black,
were arrested. The bust garnered national attention and led to
allegations of racism, the filing of civil lawsuits and investigations
by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Texas attorney general's
office.

The case also led to the passage of a law that required corroboration
for confidential informants in undercover drug stings, the ACLU said.

In another case cited, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit alleging a
series of drug arrests in the East Texas town of Hearne were racially
motivated. The November 2000 sweep led to the arrest of 28 people, all
of them black, on felony drug charges. Many of the charges were later
dismissed.

Walt noted that Perry has reorganized the task force to put it under
central oversight of the Texas Department of Public Safety to ensure
uniform policies across the state.

Plus, she said measures have been taken to make sure that some of the
concerns raised in the Tulia and Hearne cases do not happen. For
instance, she noted the state has filed a law banning racial profiling.