Tenaha, Texas

Tenaha, Texas
Town
Location of Tenaha, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Shelby
Government
• Mayor	George N. Bowers
Area
• Total	4.0 sq mi (10.3 km2)
• Land	3.9 sq mi (10.2 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	348 ft (106 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	1,046
• Density	264.9/sq mi (102.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	75974
Area code	936
FIPS code	48-72188Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1369702Template:GR

Tenaha is a town in Shelby County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,046 at the 2000 census. The town's name is taken from the Caddo language for "Muddy Water".

In 2009 Tenaha has become the subject of a class action over allegations that local police regularly made improper seizures of cash, jewelry, and property from African-American or Latino motorists passing through the town. Arrested drivers were given a choice of either going to jail on money-laundering felony charges or handing over all their valuables in order to be allowed to walk free. In one case a couple surrendered $6,000 to keep their children out of child protection services.

Geography

Tenaha is located at 31°56′39″N 94°14′47″W (31.944062, -94.246274)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10.3 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.50%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,046 people, 402 households, and 281 families residing in the town. The population density was 264.9 people per square mile (102.2/km²). There were 489 housing units at an average density of 123.8/sq mi (47.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 46.18% White, 42.35% African American, 0.19% Native American, 9.66% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.86% of the population.

There were 402 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 22.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the town the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $18,807, and the median income for a family was $22,885. Males had a median income of $22,188 versus $16,667 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,892. About 36.0% of families and 40.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 56.2% of those under age 18 and 28.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Tenaha is served by the Tenaha Independent School District.The best known alumnus of Tenaha Highschool is Jim Wilkinson (James R. Wilkinson), who gave up plans to become an undertaker to go to work for Republican Congressman Dick Armey in 1992. He served as General Tommy R. Franks' director of strategic communications, and is deputy national security advisor for communications as of December 2003.

Police seizures scandal, aka a bunch of crooks

Tenaha has the dubious distinction of allegedly utilizing a state forfeiture regulation to seize property from unsuspecting motorists to raise revenue for the local police. A recent Houston Chronicle article detailed the allegations that led Texas State Senator John Whitmire to declare, "The idea that people lose their property but are never charged [with a criminal offense] and never get it back, that's theft as far as I'm concerned." Law enforcement authorities in Tenaha seized property from at least 150 motorists between 2006 and 2008, totaling more than $3 million USD. In most of the cases where the seizures were improper, the victims were African-American or Latino.

The allegations are that the town has used its proceeds to build a new police station, reward high revenue generating officers personally, and buy a second police car.

Linda Dorman, an Akron, Ohio, great-grandmother had $4,000 in cash taken from her by local authorities when she was stopped while driving through town after visiting Houston in April 2007. Court records make no mention that anything illegal was found in her van. She's still hoping for the return of what she calls her life savings. In another instance, a man was taken to the local prison and directed to surrender thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry, then released without charges.

The town's District Attorney, Linda 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".

In July 2008, 10 plaintiffs filed suit in federal court against Tenaha and Shelby county officials, alleging that police officers had stopped them without cause and unjustly seized their property. The plaintiffs allege that officers threatened them with criminal prosecution if they did not cooperate. Officials named in the suit included Tenaha mayor George Bowers, deputy city marshal Barry Washington, and Shelby County district attorney Lynda Kay Russell.

In March 2009 the plaintiff's attorney Timothy Garrigan announced that he would seek class-action status for the lawsuit, citing a large number of similar reports from other alleged victims.

The police said that they will return at least one man's seized possessions, valued at around $8,500.