AGENT BREAKS SILENCE

Coleman Proud Of Accomplishments In Tulia Drug Sting

The undercover agent at the center of the swirling controversy in Tulia
broke his silence Tuesday, declaring that he is proud of what he
accomplished in the drug sting and confident he will be proven right in the
end.

"This undercover deal, everything was checked, double-checked, triple-
checked," Tom Coleman said in a telephone interview. "We did not put
anybody in jail that shouldn't have been there. It was a top-notch deal."

Coleman, who is currently a private investigator in Waxahachie, said he
wanted to set the record straight about the investigation and defend his
actions and those of his fellow law-enforcement officers.

Coleman moved into the public spotlight in 1999 when 46 people were
arrested in the small Texas Panhandle town after 1 years of undercover work
in which Coleman assumed the name TJ Dawson and assimilated himself into
the drug culture in Tulia. The bust began stirring controversy when the
racial makeup of the suspects - 39 of the 46 are black - was revealed and
allegations of racism began to rise.

The controversy led to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into
possible racial discrimination, which is still ongoing, and two civil
lawsuits, one of which was withdrawn and the other settled.

Through it all, Coleman maintained his silence, speaking only in court and
avoiding the public eye.

On Tuesday, however, Coleman said he'd had enough and was ready to respond
to his critics.

Coleman said he accomplished a lot in Tulia and made the town safer with
his undercover work.

"That deal in Tulia, it wasn't just a drug deal," Coleman said. "There was
automatic weapons in that town. There was pistols being carried in that
town. I'm proud of what I did there, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

One of the major criticisms of Coleman's work by supporters of the
defendants is that he didn't have corroboration to support the drug cases
he made.

Coleman said that he worked himself so deep into Tulia that there was no
way to bring along a second officer or to secure audio or videotape.

"The form of that undercover operation, it was street level, and I had to
run with them people," Coleman said. "I ate at their houses. I was one of
them. I got to be one of them."

Coleman said the one time he tried to wear a tape recorder, he came close
to blowing his cover. Coleman said he wore the device to a card game, but
some of the participants started talking about robbing him after a clash of
words. Coleman said he knew if he got into a fight, he would be discovered,
so he went to the bathroom, hid the recorder and never wore it again.

As for the ratio of blacks to whites arrested, Coleman said it was simply
the fact that he started hanging out with black people, which prevented him
from buying drugs from whites.

"When I started mixing with the blacks, I was black to everybody else in
Tulia," Coleman said. "I'm going to tell you right now, there's some
prejudice in Tulia, Texas.

"If I tried to switch over, them white people would beat my ass and put me
on the other side of the tracks."

Opponents of the drug bust also have made much of the assertion that no
drugs, money or weapons were seized during the arrests, an occurrence
Coleman chalked up to the simple fact that the arresting officers carried
arrest warrants not search warrants.

Coleman said that perhaps the most painful part of the controversy was
having attorneys and investigators picking through his background, pointing
out every little mistake as evidence of his untrustworthiness. Coleman
admitted that he had made his share of bad decisions in his life, but he
said all the allegations were overblown.

Coleman said he chose not to go into detail about every allegation from his
past, but he pledged that once the controversy dies down, he has proof that
will provide vindication.

Coleman concluded by stating he would be getting back into law enforcement,
but he said if he ever goes undercover again, he would make some changes to
ensure he never suffers through a similar controversy.

"I'd do a few things differently," Coleman said. "I would absolutely have
to figure out a way to carry a tape recorder."