Tulia, Texas

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Tulia is a city located in Swisher County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 5,117. It is the county seat of Swisher County Template:GR.

1 History
- 1.1 The Tulia drug sting incident
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 External links

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History

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The Tulia drug sting incident

Tulia gained notoriety following a drug sting in July 1999 that rounded up 46 people, forty of whom were African Americans. The remaining detainees were white people known to have ties within the black community, and in fact lived in the black part of town, often referred to by other local whites as "Niggertown." [1] Nearly one in two of Tulia's black males were arrested, about 15% of the town's black population. All charges were based on the word of undercover officer Tom Coleman, a so called "gypsy cop" who made his living travelling through impoverished rural Texas offering to work undercover cheaply for short periods of time for underfunded police departments. Coleman claimed to have made over one hundred buys in the small town, essentially an impossible feat for an undercover officer working alone. He never recorded any of the sales, but claimed to have written painstaken notes on his leg under his shorts and upper arm under his shirt sleeve when nobody was looking.

During the roundup, no large sums of money, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, or illegal weapons were found. The accused drug dealers showed no signs of having any income associated with selling drugs. The drugs Coleman claimed to have bought from the accused did not have the fingerprints of the accused on them or their baggies. No independent witnesses could corrobarate Coleman's claims. In his testimony, Coleman gave inaccurate descriptions of the "dealers" he had allegedly bought cocaine from. One suspect had his charges dropped when he was able to prove he had been at work during the times he had supposedly sold Coleman cocaine. Many of the accused, however, seeing the long sentences dealt out by all-white juries in the earliest cases, pled guilty in return for lesser sentences, despite their proclaimed innocence. The remaining defendants were convicted solely on the basis of Coleman's testimony. The state attorney general, John Cornyn, awarded Coleman a prize for being "Lawman of the Year." John Cornyn was elected to the US Senate in 2002.

Eventually the case became a cause célèbre, and money was raised to legally challenge the cases. Many had already served several years in prison when this process got down to business. By 2004, most of the "Tulia 46" had been freed, and a $6,000,000 collective settlement was reached to avoid further litigation in civil court. Local authorities remain defiant, promising their town will not become a "slot machine" in the face of a new lawsuit stemming from an incident of police brutality during the sweep by a man who was not charged.

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Geography

Image:TXMap-doton-Tulia.PNG Tulia is located at 34°32'16" North, 101°46'10" West (34.537702, -101.769307)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²). 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

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Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 5,117 people, 1,698 households, and 1,222 families residing in the city. The population density was 559.7/km² (1,447.6/mi²). There were 1,898 housing units at an average density of 207.6/km² (537.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.45% White, 8.40% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 22.12% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. 39.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,698 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 113.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,794, and the median income for a family was $32,415. Males had a median income of $24,857 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,956. 19.3% of the population and 16.0% of families were below the poverty line. 26.7% of those under the age of 18 and 14.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

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Education

The city is served by the Tulia Independent School District.

Schools that serve Tulia include Highland Elementary School (EE-2), W.V. Swinburn Elementary (3-5), Tulia Junior High School (6-8), and Tulia High School (9-12).

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