Hampton University women’s basketball coach Patricia Bibbs, her husband, and an assistant coach found themselves in the middle of a very Lubbock-style “oops.” Police accused them of running a con game called the “pigeon drop” after a woman claimed assistant coach Vanetta Kelso was the scammer. Handcuffs, jail time, humiliation—the whole nine yards.
After hours of reviewing Walmart surveillance tapes (because of course Walmart is central to this story), the police finally admitted they had the wrong people. Chief Ken Walker called it “mistaken identity” and insisted everything was handled “by the book.” You know, the same book where suspects aren’t told what they’re charged with for hours and never read their rights.
The NAACP and Hampton officials raised the obvious question of whether race played a role. Lubbock PD’s answer: absolutely not—because they definitely would’ve treated anyone else exactly the same way. Sure, Jan.
Hampton’s president even brought in Johnnie Cochran to weigh legal options, while Lubbock’s mayor at the time promised to personally apologize. Meanwhile, Bibbs said she felt something had been taken from her—probably her trust in West Texas law enforcement.
A canceled basketball game, a Walmart parking lot, and Johnnie Cochran on the case—this whole saga is peak Lubbock chaos. Who needs March Madness when you’ve got November in the Hub City?
