MANY TO BLAME FOR TULIA STING

APD'S Mike Amos Gets Unfair Share

Lt. Mike Amos retires today from the Amarillo Police Department.

Hopefully, his association with the infamous 1999 Tulia drug sting will be
retired as well.

Amos, the former head of the defunct Panhandle Regional Narcotics
Trafficking Task Force, took much of the heat for the Tulia fiasco, most of
it unwarranted.

The majority of the blame for what happened in Tulia rests squarely on the
shoulders of Tom Coleman, the discredited former undercover officer whose
questionable actions resulted in the arrests of 46 people, most of them
pardoned. Coleman faces legal troubles of his own, having been indicted on
three counts of perjury.

Before Amos is branded with the Tulia mark, there are other factors to
consider.

Amos was head of the PRNTTF, but his culpability in how Coleman carried out
his investigation was limited.

Is it necessarily Amos' fault that the Texas justice system bought the word
of one person, who fingered 46 people on unfounded charges without any
corroborating evidence such as a videotape or audiotape?

And as far as the justice system, 11 of the Tulia defendants were found
guilty in a court of law and 17 accepted plea agreements.

The evidence - or lack thereof - against the defendants is the issue, and
Amos was not a party in determining guilt or innocence.

And what of the elected officials in Tulia, who arguably should have had
more knowledge of what Coleman was up to rather than a police officer in
Amarillo?

Many share the blame for this travesty of justice. Lt. Mike Amos is way
down on the list.