Pubdate: Wed,  4 Oct 2000
Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
Copyright: 2000 Amarillo Globe-News
Contact:  P.O. Box 2091, Amarillo, TX 79166
Fax: (806) 373-0810
Website: http://amarillonet.com/
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Author: Ricky George, Globe-News Staff Writer

LOCAL NAACP MIGHT JOIN TULIA RACIAL PROFILING SUIT

The Amarillo chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People will ask its national leaders to allow the chapter to join a 
lawsuit against Swisher County officials, president Alphonso Vaughn said 
Tuesday night.

Vaughn spoke during a rally at Amarillo's Black Historical Culture Center 
in support of Tulia residents affected by a large drug sting operation and 
subsequent convictions of about 40 black Tulia residents.

"The significance of this meeting is to let you know that justice still has 
not been served," Potter County Commissioner Iris Lawrence said.

A lawsuit filed Friday in Amarillo by the Texas affiliate of the American 
Civil Liberties Union alleges that undercover agent Tom Coleman, Swisher 
County Sheriff Larry Stewart and District Attorney Terry McEachern 
conspired to violate the civil rights of Tulia blacks.

McEachern and Stewart both have denied the allegations previously.

Coleman was the lone officer who conducted the 18-month drug sting 
operation. The worth of Coleman's word was in dispute during the trial of a 
24-year-old Tulia man who ultimately received a 60-year prison term. 
Although described by some as an excellent lawman, others challenged his 
character.

Amarillo attorney Jeff Blackburn filed the lawsuit on behalf of his client, 
Yul Bryant, a man who Blackburn said protested his innocence for seven 
months before the charge was dropped and he finally was released from jail.

"I disagree with (Lawrence). The reason we're here tonight is because 
justice will be served," Blackburn said.

The lawsuit asks for $1 million in actual damages and $1 million in 
punitive damages from each of the three being sued.

The Amarillo NAACP chapter conducted its own investigation into the drug 
cases, Vaughn said. The NAACP contacted Swisher County officials and 
examined court documents and trial transcripts.

"It is perceived that there were discrepancies in the testimony from the 
so-called undercover agent," Vaughn said. "There are at least three 
instances where we perceived perjured testimony."

About 50 Tulia residents attended the rally, many of whom were transported 
by buses chartered by the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice in 
New York.

"We're not going to let anything stop us," Tulia resident Mattie White 
said. "We're going to fight this."
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