Talk:Tenaha, Texas

Driving through Tenaha, Texas, doesn't pay for some
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-texas-profiling11-2009mar11,0,507135.story

Los Angeles Times

March 11, 2009

Driving through Tenaha, Texas, doesn't pay for some

A lawsuit alleges that the town's police pull over motorists -- especially African Americans -- and extort money and valuables by threatening criminal charges or worse.

By Howard Witt

Reporting from Tenaha, Texas — You can drive into this dusty fleck of a town near the Texas-Louisiana state line if you're African American, but you might not be able to drive out of it -- at least not with your car, your cash, your jewelry or other valuables. That's because the police here allegedly have found a way to strip motorists, many of them black, of their property without ever charging them with a crime. Instead they offer out-of-towners a grim choice: Sign over your belongings to the town, or face felony charges of money laundering or other serious crimes....

Reotearweset (talk) 20:59, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Highway robbery? Texas police seize black motorists' cash, cars
Highway robbery? Texas police seize black motorists' cash, cars

Suit says cops force motorists, largely black, to forfeit cash and cars—or be charged with trumped-up crimes

By Howard Witt | Tribune correspondent

March 10, 2009

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-texas-profiling_wittmar10,0,6051682.story

Reotearweset (talk) 21:01, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

I just removed some really inappropriate content
Don't put the mayor's phone number in the article. Don't put whole sentences in bold to try to rally people toward outrage. Wikipedia is not a soapbox. I did not bother to add a citation to my claims under 'controversy,' but everything I claim derives from today's cnn.com article on the subject. Please someone clean this up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Acone (talk • contribs) 03:41, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I really dont know how you made the decision what is and is not important. This is an article about a one-horse town, so maybe the whole town shouldnt even have a page? I am partially reverting your edits. The Isiah (talk) 04:19, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks for reverting some of the meat Acone removed, but next time if you can't do a straight revert, copy from the source code, not the rendered text. I'd fix your fix, but the article is now protected. 68.73.93.130 (talk) 12:36, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

I notice that race was edited out of the text, yet in all of the news accounts, race is presented as a central component. Political corectness? If they are pulling over mostly blacks and latinos, why not say so? It's relevent. Proxy User (talk) 20:42, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Dubious Distinction
Not sure if the term 'dubious distinction' is the proper way of describing the town coming to the national spotlight. While this practice is grotesque, pathetic, and simply acts to further harden the perception of Texas natives as backwards and regressive individuals, I do not think as an encyclopedia article the facts should be embellished with such language. I will await discussion before changing the article to the effect mentioned. --Aristotle1776 (talk) 18:01, 5 May 2009 (UTC)
 * The language needs to be cleaned up. While I fully agree with the sentiment, it's clearly POV. Proxy User (talk) 20:37, 5 May 2009 (UTC)
 * If a reliable source uses a term like that, then cite it to the source, such as CNN or a newspaper or a legislator. Use an inline cite. Edison (talk) 21:10, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Personal Information Inconsistencies
In one paragraph it mentions, "the town's District Attorney, Linda Russell". In the next it says "Shelby County district attorney Lynda Kay Russell". Is this the same person? In one paragraph it's Linda, in the next it's Lynda. By calling it "the town's District Attorney," one would assume this to mean Tenaha's District Attorney. But then it credits her as "Shelby County District Attorney." 69.15.193.2 (talk) 19:03, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Citation does not support claim in article text
The fourth paragraph reads:
 * The town's District Attorney, Lynda Russell, has been accused of corruption after making commission payments to one of the arresting officers and local clubs, when Texas law explicitly states that forfeited money can only be used "for official purposes".[9]

However, footnote 9 leads to a CNN article which only says this about payments to officers, quoting the lawsuit:
 * not for any legitimate law enforcement purpose but to enrich their offices and perhaps themselves [emphasis mine]

The article doesn't say that the DA has actually made payments, only that she is accused. I am changing the article text to:
 * The town's District Attorney, Lynda Russell, has been accused of corruption for allegedly making commission payments to one of the arresting officers and local clubs, when Texas law explicitly states that forfeited money can only be used "for official purposes".[9]"

Khabalox (talk) 17:28, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Future use
http://www.ktre.com/story/19209574/settlement-brings-changes-to-policy-in-tenaha

Split of "Asset forfeiture controversy"
I think that the "Asset forfeiture controversy" section should be split into a new article. &thinsp;&mdash; Mr. Guye (talk) (contribs)&thinsp; 16:38, 16 July 2018 (UTC)


 * Hi . It seems to almost be almost 5 five years since this topic was posted. Good news is that a separate article was created named Tenaha, Texas asset forfeiture controversy. With that, the article for the town of Tenaha, Texas is a little cleaner. Cwater1 (talk) 12:59, 7 May 2023 (UTC)

District Attorney
I don't know if she left voluntarily, was part of the settlement, or quit rather than be fired, etc, but looks like the DA left her job and went into private practice also in 2012 and was doing a lot of pro bono work. https://www.lightandchampion.com/node/194056 MartinezMD (talk) 04:38, 20 January 2019 (UTC)