LEARNING CURVE

At the very least, credit Tulia law enforcement with being consistent: They
appear to discriminate equally against both blacks and Hispanics. First
there was the now well-publicized bust of nearly 10 percent of the town's
small black population in 1999 (see "Color of Justice," by Nate Blakeslee,
June 23, 2000) based on the testimony of a single narc with a questionable
history. Then last May, at the invitation of Tulia police, the Texas
Alcoholic Beverage Commission busted up a predominantly Hispanic backyard
high school graduation party. The officers had no warrant but insist they
saw minors drinking from beer cans in an alley adjacent to the property.
According to the owners of the home, there was a keg in the backyard but no
beer cans at the party. They insist no minors were drinking alcohol.

Agents forced about 50 guests at the party, including a pregnant woman and
children as young as six, to kneel with their hands above their heads while
the officers checked identification cards. When the mother of the house,
Silvia Rosales protested, an officer handcuffed her and hustled her to a
squad car. Rosales was driven to the county jail but then quickly returned
to the house. A total of 22 minors were cited for illegal possession of
alcohol and three people were jailed for disorderly conduct. None of the
kids at the party were tested for alcohol despite the requests of at least
one parent present. Residents say at least two Anglo children from
prominent local families were allowed to leave without being ticketed.

After listening to testimony from victims of the TABC raid, Swisher County
District Attorney Terry McEachern wisely declined to prosecute any of the
cases. Tulia authorities are already facing investigations from the U.S.
Justice Department and the State Attorney General's Office for the 1999
drug busts. Both LULAC and a local civil rights organization called Friends
of Justice have mobilized to protest the TABC raid, and now to have the
arrests expunged from the records of the victims.

In a public letter released August 15, TABC Executive Director Rolando
Garza insisted that, while the agency should "have done things
differently," race wasn't a factor. Nonetheless, two TABC agents who
participated in the raid were fired. (They are appealing their dismissals.)
Garza also promised that he would review how the agency conducts "future
investigations of this nature."