The annual racial profiling report was initially submitted and approved before Montgomery County Commissioners Court on Feb. 7 as part of the consent agenda. However, the data was inaccurate on an item indicating whether an officer had knowledge of a driver's race or ethnicity before a traffic stop. The report initially submitted indicated the race and ethnicity were known in the majority of the stops, but it should have reported that it was not known, according to Lt. Scott Spencer. The statistic was reversed during the exporting of the data, and the report should indicate that race and ethnicity were not known prior to 97.8% of traffic stops, according to Spencer.
However, the report shows about 12% stops were conducted on Black drivers, who make up 6.6% of the county population, according to information from the report. In comparison, white drivers make up 62.3% of the population and represent 58.43% of traffic stops, according to the report. The report states the county population percentage represents households with vehicle access.
According to the report, the sheriff’s office states the data “confirms our belief that the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office does not have any indicators of racially biased traffic enforcement” and is “based on violations alone.”
The 2021 report indicated a similar disparity between population demographics and traffic stops.
However, officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said more data is needed to interpret the report.
"Montgomery County’s population is less than 7% Black, but nearly 12% percent of the traffic stops made by sheriff’s deputies last year were Black drivers,” said Nick Hudson, ACLU of Texas policy and advocacy lead strategist. “Many stops are of out-of-towners. While Black drivers may be up to 1.93 times as likely to be stopped by sheriff’s deputies as white drivers, we need residency data to draw any firm conclusions.”
The next Montgomery County Commissioners Court is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 9:30 a.m. at 501 N. Thompson St., Ste. 402, Conroe.
