Racist Outrage in Tulia, Texas – 10% of African-American Population Arrested
A racist outrage occurred in the small town of Tulia, Texas, as one Deputy Sheriff arrested 46 people, 39 of whom were African-American, on drug charges. The 39 represented about 10 percent of the town’s African-American population.
Swisher County Deputy Sheriff Tom Coleman, working with the federally-funded Panhandle Regional Narcotics Task Force, single-handedly arrested 46 people on drug charges, 39 of whom were African-American. Deputy Coleman claimed that all 46 had sold him drugs.
Coleman offered no evidence to support the arrest charges: no witnesses, no photographic evidence, nothing. Adding to the outrage, the arrestees who plead not guilty were given sentences of between 20 and 434 years in prison! Defendants who plead guilty received sentences of between 1 and 18 years.
Also outrageous, Deputy Tom Colman was honored as “Lawman of the Year” in 200o by the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn. Cornyn was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2002 and was still in office in 2021.
The Tulia outrage came to the attention of the Legal Defense Fund, Inc., which enlisted assistance from two prominent national law firms.
By August 2003, almost all of the defendants had been pardoned by the Governor of Texas. Most shared in a $5 million settlement for damages. Deputy Coleman was arrested and found guilty of perjury for his false claims in court. In 2004 the federally-funded narcotics task force was disbanded.
Read the NAACP Legal Defense Fund story on the case here
Find the PBS documentary on the case here
Read the ACLU story on the case here