Constable says he was racially profiled

An elected Waller County constable said he was racially profiled Tuesday when a 911 call, in which a driver contends the lawman brandished a gun in traffic, led to him being pulled over and handcuffed on the Beltway.

Waller County Pct. 3 Constable Herschel Smith, 60, who is

Black, said the report was false and denies pulling a gun on a driver. He is not facing any charges.

The report of a gun prompted a “high-risk” traffic stop by the Harris County Pct. 5 Constable’s Office on the Beltway near the Memorial exit, according to Pct. 5 Constable Ted Heap. Smith’s license plate and vehicle matched the description given by the caller, he said. The deputies drew their guns — which officials say is protocol for high-risk stops — and handcuffed the constable for one minute and 47 seconds before releasing him.

The Texas Rangers have been asked to continue the criminal investigation, Heap said.

At the time, Smith said he was in uniform driving an unmarked, county owned Chevy Tahoe with Texas exempt license plates. In a press conference Wednesday, Smith said he believes the original caller made a false report because he is Black. Further, he said the deputies ignored his uniform and credentials when they handcuffed him.

“I think they lack the training,” Smith said of the Harris County deputies during the press conference. “Had they just asked me for my ID — and my ID

says who I am — had they just looked for my badge … we wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Smith, in his second term, also said the deputies actions reflect “the culture” of law enforcement.

“The culture of doing wrong has always been with the police,” he said. “And it takes people who are in charge to hold people to a higher standard. But as long as we keep covering up, and conspiring to cover this up, we will never see change in America.”

Heap held his own press conference Wednesday and rehashed the 911 call and a video of the traffic stop. He said the caller did not provide the man’s race, so his deputies did not know the man was Black before the stop. He said the deputies’ actions were “textbook” and did not appear to violate any policies.

“It’s hard to racially profile somebody when you don’t have any idea who you’re pulling over,” Heap said. “We handled this just as we would handle it with any other individual, and I have not seen anything so far from body cameras or any tapes that would be any concern on the way Precinct 5 handled this situation.”

Heap said deputies spoke to the original caller after the incident, and he stood by his account. The man wanted to pursue charges against the constable, he said.

Heap on Wednesday called the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, which advised him to turn the case over to the Texas Rangers.

The 911 caller and Smith provided different accounts of what happened.

According to Heap, the caller said the driver of an unmarked Chevrolet Tahoe flashed the vehicle’s emergency lights behind him on the Beltway around 6 p.m. Tuesday. The caller said he slowed down to pull over when the Tahoe pulled up next to him. The Tahoe’s window was rolled down as the driver yelled profanities, the caller said. The driver of the Tahoe then pointed a gun, according to the caller. The caller said he hit the brakes to avoid the weapon, and the Tahoe driver continued down the Beltway.

At the time, Smith said he was driving home from an extra security job. He said he flashed his red and blue emergency lights to prompt two speeding drivers to slow down on the Beltway. He never intended to pull either driver over, he said. He denies the caller’s claim that he pulled a gun and yelled profanities.

“I went on about my business going home and that’s when Precinct 5 got behind me,” he said.

When Precinct 5 deputies spotted him on the Beltway, Heap said they could not verify that he was driving a law enforcement vehicle. He said the current owner was listed as “Enterprise Holdings,” and the previous owner was a car dealership. Also, he said the vehicle showed up in a suspicious vehicle report from June earlier this year.

“Very seldom do you ever see an exempt plate on an unmarked car to be begin with,” Heap said.

Smith said Enterprise is the agency from which Waller County leased the vehicle.

“They had no reason to disrespect me like they did,” Smith said.