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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Tulia Turmoil
Aired June 16, 2003 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for some "Coffey Talk" right now.
On the phone live from Miami, our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, to talk more about Tulia.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Let's review the case a little bit for those who have not watched the news through the weekend. Now, these dozen people were convicted because of the testimony from an undercover cop who was hired as a freelancer by the sheriff in this country.
COFFEY: He was working for a local drug task force, the Panhandle Regional Drug Task Force, and basically was cut loose on his own; 46 people arrested in the predawn hours and yet not one of their homes showed money, drugs, any of the evidence you would normally expect to see if somebody really was dealing in drugs.
COSTELLO: Yes, the incredible part about this, this undercover cop had no surveillance videotapes, no audio recordings of his drug buys, no drugs -- no drugs to corroborate his story! How could this happen?
COFFEY: Well, it sort of screams at you that something is badly amiss. But theoretically, if somebody goes to trial, the uncorroborated, undocumented word of a single accusing witness, especially if it's a police officer, can be enough to secure convictions. And after the first couple of defendants were convicted and whopping jail sentences were handed out, the rest of the defendants started to plead guilty.
COSTELLO: But the other thing about this undercover cop, this freelance officer, he had actually been charged with theft. So, how could this Swisher County sheriff use him?
COFFEY: Well, that's another one of the big questions that's very troubling. He clearly had a checkered past in a lot of ways. There were prior employers that said this guy should not be used in law enforcement. And yet, they used him anyway, and they didn't disclose some of that very troubling information to the defense, so that the defense could have used it during the original trials to challenge his credibility as a prosecution witness.
COSTELLO: And this took place -- these drug busts took place in a very small town, and it's very racially divided because of this, because all of the suspects were African-American.
COFFEY: Well, essentially they arrested 10 percent of the African-American community in the entire town, and there is evidence that Tom Coleman himself, now described as a "rogue cop," had clear racist remarks and just so many things, Carol, indicating that something was badly, badly wrong with these arrests.
COSTELLO: Well, we'll keep following and see if these suspects are freed today in Tulia, Texas. Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 16, 2003 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for some "Coffey Talk" right now.
On the phone live from Miami, our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, to talk more about Tulia.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Let's review the case a little bit for those who have not watched the news through the weekend. Now, these dozen people were convicted because of the testimony from an undercover cop who was hired as a freelancer by the sheriff in this country.
COFFEY: He was working for a local drug task force, the Panhandle Regional Drug Task Force, and basically was cut loose on his own; 46 people arrested in the predawn hours and yet not one of their homes showed money, drugs, any of the evidence you would normally expect to see if somebody really was dealing in drugs.
COSTELLO: Yes, the incredible part about this, this undercover cop had no surveillance videotapes, no audio recordings of his drug buys, no drugs -- no drugs to corroborate his story! How could this happen?
COFFEY: Well, it sort of screams at you that something is badly amiss. But theoretically, if somebody goes to trial, the uncorroborated, undocumented word of a single accusing witness, especially if it's a police officer, can be enough to secure convictions. And after the first couple of defendants were convicted and whopping jail sentences were handed out, the rest of the defendants started to plead guilty.
COSTELLO: But the other thing about this undercover cop, this freelance officer, he had actually been charged with theft. So, how could this Swisher County sheriff use him?
COFFEY: Well, that's another one of the big questions that's very troubling. He clearly had a checkered past in a lot of ways. There were prior employers that said this guy should not be used in law enforcement. And yet, they used him anyway, and they didn't disclose some of that very troubling information to the defense, so that the defense could have used it during the original trials to challenge his credibility as a prosecution witness.
COSTELLO: And this took place -- these drug busts took place in a very small town, and it's very racially divided because of this, because all of the suspects were African-American.
COFFEY: Well, essentially they arrested 10 percent of the African-American community in the entire town, and there is evidence that Tom Coleman himself, now described as a "rogue cop," had clear racist remarks and just so many things, Carol, indicating that something was badly, badly wrong with these arrests.
COSTELLO: Well, we'll keep following and see if these suspects are freed today in Tulia, Texas. Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
