Texas drug sting cop found not credible by court
02.04.2003 4.27 pm
DALLAS - Tom Coleman was hailed as the Texas lawman of the year for busting
a drug ring in the Panhandle town of Tulia, but a court has moved to say
that he cannot be taken at his word and his sting operation was a scam.
Attorneys fighting to overturn the conviction of four people imprisoned by
Coleman, and lawyers for the state reached an agreement today under state
district Judge Ron Chapman to request that all 38 felony convictions
obtained by Coleman's testimony in the drug sting be overturned by a higher
court, the lawyers in the case said.
There has been mounting criticism that the arrests were racially motivated.
"It is stipulated by all parties and approved by the court that Tom Coleman
is simply not a credible witness under oath," Chapman said in a statement
in court, the lawyers said.
Coleman rose to prominence in July 1999 when his sting led to the arrests
of 46 people, almost all black, for involvement in an alleged drug ring in
Tulia. Those arrested by the white officer made up about 10 per cent of the
black population of Tulia, which has a total population of about 5000.
No drugs, money or weapons were found in the sting, and the convictions
were largely based on Coleman's testimony, lawyers said. Coleman was not
immediately available for comment.
Coleman was the lone detective on an 18-month undercover operation and
court records show he submitted no audio or video surveillance material as
evidence, while taking scant notes.
Coleman, wearing a cowboy hat and black leather jacket, testified in the
finding of fact case headed by Chapman in late March. He said in testimony
he often used racial slurs in daily speech, and at times, he appeared at a
loss when asked to comment on specific information that was used to obtain
drug convictions, court watchers said.
"The hearings were the first opportunity in open court for defence
attorneys to expose the active misrepresentation that had occurred at the
trials in Tulia. And to expose Tom Coleman's utter lack of credibility as
to his background and the manner in which he conducted the sting," said
Vanita Gupta, a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defence Fund, one of the groups
in court fighting to overturn the Tulia convictions.
She said she was thrilled at the agreement reached in the case, and a
lawyer for Texas said he felt the agreement was warranted given Coleman's
testimony.
"I'm absolutely convinced it was the right thing to do," Rod Hobson, a
special prosecutor said.
The tide started to turn in the Tulia drug sting when charges were dropped
last year against Tonya White who allegedly sold cocaine to Coleman.
Prosecutors dropped the charges when White produced bank documents showing
that she was out of Texas at the time Coleman said she sold drugs to him.
Since then several other people arrested in the Tulia sting had charges
against them dropped or were freed from jail.
Gupta said there are still 13 people in prison from the Tulia sting and
civil rights groups are working to overturn their convictions.
The next step is a statement of finding of fact from Chapman, to be sent to
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
That court will have the final say on whether to accept the findings. If it
does accept findings that Coleman was not a credible witness, the appeals
court can order new trials, or overturn the previous convictions.
"Based on Tom Coleman's testimony here, I would be hard pressed to
understand why the state would ever want to put him on the stand again,"
Gupta said.
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