Between February 1998 and July 1999, undercover agent Tom Coleman claimed to have bought at least 117 narcotics from 47 people in Tulia, Texas, using the alias T. J. Dawson. On July 23, 1999, authorities arrested all 47 suspects; 38 were African American, representing roughly 10–20% of Tulia’s African American population. Coleman’s testimony helped secure 38 convictions, despite the absence of audio or video recordings, corroborating officers, drugs, or weapons in the initial raid. His reports were often sparse, and several identifications were incorrect.
After defendant Gary Gardner challenged the evidence, civil-rights attorney Jeff Blackburn, Vanita Gupta of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and other lawyers investigated the cases. By 2004, most defendants had been released and a $6 million collective settlement was reached. Texas Governor Rick Perry pardoned 35 of the 38 incarcerated defendants. In January 2005, Coleman was convicted of one count of perjury in a separate proceeding and received 10 years’ probation and a $7,500 fine; the Texas Seventh Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in 2006. Proposed federal legislation in 2007 sought stronger evidentiary standards and screening for drug-task-force officers but was not enacted.
