The Texas panhandle town of Tulia made the national news in 1999 when 46 of the 5,000 residents were arrested in a sweeping drug sting. Thomas Coleman, the officer who worked the case alone, was called the Lone Ranger and named Texas Lawman of the Year. It should have been a shining moment for Tulia, except for one little thing: The 46 people who were arrested were innocent.
The documentary Tulia, Texas, screening today at Rice Center, pieces together the startling facts of the case ย almost 10 percent of Tuliaยs black adults were caught up in the raid (39 of the 46 suspects were black). Coleman, who was wanted for theft in a nearby county, had never used any surveillance equipment, had misidentified suspects and had given contradictory information in his reports. Local officials had willingly overlooked those details, it seems, in exchange for a drug-free town. Tulia, Texas is an unblinking look at what happened to one community when the war on drugs became the war on anybody. 7 p.m. 6100 Main. For information, call 713-348-4882 or visit www.tuliatexasfilm.com. Free.
Tue., March 24, 7 p.m., 2009
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2009.