TULIA'S REVIEW BOARD SEEKS TO MOVE ON

Critics Call It PR Ploy; Supporters Hope For Better Communication

TULIA, Texas - In an effort to turn aside a national reputation for racism
and intolerance, the people of this small Panhandle community put their
city and county judicial system under citizen review Monday.

It was, they said, time to move on.

Critics called it a public relations trick. Proponents, including parents
of some of the 35 people pardoned last week by Gov. Rick Perry, said
citizens' review was a necessary step to attract businesses and remove the
taint from Tulia and the rest of Swisher County.

The panel of two black, two Hispanic and two white residents will act as a
conduit for complaints and concerns of residents about the Tulia Police
Department and deputies of the Swisher County Sheriff's Department. It is
only the second city in Texas, after Dallas, to name a civilian review board.

"Our mission is to foster unity and promote a better sense of communication
among those who feel their needs are not being addressed," said Angie
Trevino, one of the review board members. "We want to look toward the
future, not the past."

For more than four years, Tulia, a community of about 6,000 between Lubbock
and Amarillo, has been battered by accusations of racism and intolerance
stemming from a controversial 1999 drug sting. Of 46 people arrested during
the operation, 39 were black. In the spring, a state judge recommended that
convictions be thrown out for 38, noting that the arresting officer Tom
Coleman, a freelance undercover cop working for a regional task force, was
not a credible witness.

In June, 12 of the Tulia 38 still in prison were released pending new
trials. Last week, Gov. Rick Perry issued pardons for 35, wiping out their
convictions. One man was not pardoned because of an unrelated charge in
Potter County, and two others remained jailed on probation violations.

The idea of a citizen review board grew out of conversations between
Swisher County Judge Harold Keeter, Sheriff Larry Stewart and Randy Credico
of the Kuntsler Foundation in New York, one of the principle advocates for
the Tulia 38.

"We've spent three years trashing this community because of what happened
to the people wrongly jailed," Mr. Credico said. "One day in June, the
judge and the sheriff and I sat down over coffee to talk about where things
would go from here. We all agreed it was time to move on to the future."

The pressures put on the county and Tulia during efforts to free the people
wrongly convicted prompted national exposure that painted Tulia as racist,
Mr. Credico said.

"That is not reflective of the people of this city," he said. "This is not
Mississippi in the '60s. But the bad image was killing job development. How
was that going to help black people?"

The community review board was picked from nominees prepared by Mr. Keeter,
Sheriff Stewart and residents Mattie White and Freddie Brookins Sr., who
both had children imprisoned as a result of the drug sting turned bad.

"We need to get jobs in here," Mrs. White said. "This is a good place to
live and I don't want to have to go anywhere else and I don't want my
daughter to leave to find a job."

Mr. Brookins also enthusiastically endorsed the review board.

"It's an important step. We want jobs and we want equality," he said. "This
board will help move us forward on justice issues and let us put the past
behind us. Then we can work on economic development."

Not everyone is convinced of the value of the review board.

"Essentially, it's a PR effort to put a good face on the city," said Alan
Bean, a founder of United We Stand, a grass-roots organization in Tulia
that helped bring the questionable arrests to light three years ago. "The
test will be just how effective the board will be in getting accountability
for the complaints that come in."

The six-member board will serve for two years and without pay. The racial
and ethnic balance will be maintained in subsequent panels. The prime job
of the board is to funnel complaints about police and city government to
the appropriate agency for action, Mr. Keeter said. The panel will have no
authority to change policy.

Both Police Chief Jim McCaslin and Sheriff Stewart supported the goals of
the review board.

"We're going to watch and see how it works, but I really see nothing but
positives come out of this," Chief McCaslin said.

The sheriff agreed. "Anytime you have the opportunity for improved
communications between law enforcement and the community, that's a good
thing," he said.

It's not all smooth sailing for Tulia. Last week, attorneys representing
two women caught up in the 1999 sting filed suit in federal court in
Amarillo alleging civil rights violations, including false arrest and
unreasonable search and seizure.

The suit also targets the drug task force in Amarillo that hired Mr.
Coleman despite reports of a checkered law enforcement career. The suit
alleges the task force was negligent in hiring the troubled cop and setting
him loose with little supervision to conduct the 18-month undercover operation.

Sheriff Stewart is named in the lawsuit, as are Mr. Coleman and District
Attorney Terry McEachern. All parties declined to comment about the suit.

But, Mr. Keeter said, the review board is an indication that Tulia and
Swisher County are working at mending its fences and overcoming the blemish
the sting arrests gave the community.

"We're not in the process of creating a community action committee that
would focus on economic development issues," he said. "We're also looking
at ways to find money to expand our drug treatment facility to provide more
counseling and women's and juvenile units.

"If anything we've learned over the past few years, it's that this has to
be a community effort," he said. "We all have to work together to move forward."