Pubdate: Fri, 21 May 2004
Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
Copyright: 2004 Amarillo Globe-News
Contact:  http://amarillonet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/13
Author: David Maas
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/tulia.htm (Tulia, Texas)

TULIA BLACKMAIL SETS BAD PRECEDENT

The residents of the Texas Panhandle counties having to pay people in Tulia 
for the botched drug bust is nothing more than blackmail.

The hardest part is that some of those arrested in Tulia probably were 
guilty of drug charges. Now towns that had nothing to do with this except 
having their names on the task force are shelling out thousands, even 
millions, of dollars to these people.

I agree that the bust was wrongly executed, but did any of the suspects 
have a history of drug use and or selling? Now, thanks to the efforts of 
attorney Jeff Blackburn, even the ones who were guilty are being rewarded 
for it.

And due to the Tulia fiasco, the first words out of the mouths of some of 
the people involved in the recent Hamlet Park incident were, "I'm calling 
Blackburn. I'm gonna sue the police."

Thanks, Jeff.

Now more people who probably don't deserve a dime will make a mint off 
people who probably didn't cause any trouble.

David Maas

Dumas
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