$5 million settlement reached in Texas lawsuit that disbands discredited drug task force (SFgate.com, March 11, 2004)
More than 40 people snared in a now-discredited drug sting in the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia will share $5 million as part of a settlement, an attorney for the plaintiffs said. The agreement with the nearby city of Amarillo, announced Wednesday, also ends the multiagency task force that ran the sting operation. It was cheered by the NAACP and attorneys representing those arrested in what many believe was a racially motivated operation.
"The settlement that was reached is truly historic," attorney Jeff Blackburn told The Associated Press. "It represents the first example of a responsible city government putting an end to irresponsible task force system of narcotics enforcement." [...] All but one of the 46 people arrested -- most of them black -- will receive some portion of the $5 million. The person not included is deceased. A claims administrator will divide the funds. [...] Mediation is ongoing with others named in the lawsuit -- 26 counties and three cities that were involved with the Panhandle Regional Narcotics Trafficking Task Force. Swisher County officials earlier approved a $250,000 settlement for those imprisoned based on Coleman's testimony in exchange for the defendants promising not to sue the county. Coleman no longer is an officer.
$5 million settlement reached over Tulia drug bust (Houston Chronicle, March 11, 2004): Plaintiffs in a civil-rights lawsuit settled for $5 million involving a now-discredited drug bust accomplished their goal of dismantling the task force they say targeted blacks, the attorney for the two women who filed the lawsuit said today. "There's no amount of money that could ever compensate the people in Tulia," said attorney Jeff Blackburn at a news conference announcing the settlement. "In our view this was a whole systemic failure." [...] One defendant died before going to trial and is not included in the settlement, Blackburn said. A claims administrator will determine how the funds will be apportioned, taking into account factors like the amount of jail time served. [...] The women's suit was filed Aug. 22, the same day Gov. Rick Perry pardoned 35 prosecuted in the Tulia cases. Those 35 defendants spent a combined 80 years in jail.
I'm glad to hear that the case is settled, I guess.
But somehow, $5 million divided by 44 divided by a collective 80 years spent in prison sounds like far too little. I understand the desire to get this done and over with, to avoid the cycle of appeals that a large jury verdict would create. (Assuming you could get a large jury verdict from a pool that produced the people who served on juries that created this mess in the first place.)
But still.
Posted by iain at March 11, 2004 04:03 PM
