Black drivers in Fort Bend County were stopped and searched by sheriff’s deputies at disproportionately higher rates last year, according to the county’s 2025 racial profiling report.
The report shows Black residents, who make up about 23% of the county’s population, accounted for 39% of all traffic stops conducted by the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office in 2025.
The disparity widens when it comes to searches. Black drivers accounted for 43.6% of vehicle searches, the largest share among all racial groups.
While the numbers alone do not prove racial profiling, they highlight patterns that civil rights advocates say deserve closer scrutiny as the county continues to grow and diversify.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan said the department’s enforcement activity reflects routine policing and emphasized that the agency has policies in place prohibiting racial profiling.
“We have policies here that stop officers from engaging in racial profiling,” Fagan said. “And if we suspect racial profiling, we have a policy where people can come in and file a complaint and we’ll conduct an investigation, because we strictly prohibit racial profiling.”
Fagan said deputies are expected to carry out their duties professionally and without bias.
“We’re doing the job — meaning that we’re not racial profiling,” Fagan said. “We’re carrying out our duties professionally, non-biased.”
At the same time, Fagan acknowledged that bias exists broadly in society but said law enforcement policies are designed to prevent it from influencing policing decisions.
“Everyone has bias — that’s just human nature,” he said. “But in law enforcement, we have to be careful not to use that bias in conducting our work. That’s why we have policies in place to make sure that we’re not doing that.”
Where the stops occur
According to the report, 41% of traffic stops occurred in unincorporated areas of Fort Bend County, which fall under the sheriff’s office’s jurisdiction rather than city police departments.
Those areas often include major roadways, developing suburban corridors, and high-traffic zones where deputies frequently conduct enforcement patrols.
Fagan said many traffic stops originate from highway enforcement where officers cannot determine a driver’s race beforehand.
“There’s no way to see the race of that individual when a vehicle is moving 50 miles an hour down the highway,” Fagan said. “You can’t see the person who’s driving. Only once you make that stop do you find out.”
Texas law requires law enforcement agencies to track demographic information during traffic stops, including a driver’s perceived race, whether a search occurred and the outcome of the stop.
The goal is to provide transparency and enable communities to monitor potential racial profiling.
No formal complaints filed
Despite the disparities shown in the data, no formal racial profiling complaints were filed against the sheriff’s office in 2025, according to the report.
Civil rights advocates say the absence of complaints does not necessarily mean residents lack concerns.
Fagan said the sheriff’s office has increased internal oversight measures designed to hold deputies accountable.
“We file more internal investigations on our employees than what the public does,” he said. “Because we review the body cameras, and if we see something we don’t like, we file the complaint ourselves.”
Fagan also noted that body cameras were implemented during his administration to improve transparency.
“That was one reason I was hard on getting these body cameras,” he said. “It protects the officers as well as the public.”
Why search rates matter
Researchers studying racial disparities in policing often focus more closely on search rates rather than stop rates.
Traffic stops can be influenced by factors such as officer deployment patterns, traffic volume or enforcement priorities.
Searches, however, usually involve greater officer discretion.
Studies across the country have repeatedly found that Black drivers are searched at higher rates than white drivers, even though searches of white motorists are statistically more likely to uncover illegal items.
For that reason, disparities in search data are often viewed as one of the clearest indicators researchers examine when evaluating potential bias.
A broader statewide pattern
Fort Bend County’s data mirrors patterns documented across Texas.
Reports from ACLU Texas and other civil rights groups have found that Black and Latino motorists are frequently stopped or searched at disproportionate rates across the state.
Still, experts emphasize that statistical disparities alone do not prove discriminatory intent.
Instead, the data often raises broader questions about policing strategies — including where officers patrol, which violations are prioritized and how discretionary searches are conducted.
Fagan said he believes an upcoming independent study will offer additional insight.
“A study is about to come out from doctors at the University of Houston examining whether Fort Bend was racially profiling or not,” he said. “It should be coming out in the next few months, and I believe it’s going to show that there’s no racial profiling going on.”
What’s next?
Local officials, advocates and residents now have the data needed to push for follow-up briefings, audits or policy changes if they decide to use it.
Similar findings elsewhere in the region have already prompted reforms.
In Houston, for example, the police department rescinded a directive that encouraged officers to make at least one traffic stop per shift after critics argued the practice contributed to disparities in enforcement.
Fort Bend commissioners and community groups will determine in the coming meetings how aggressively to scrutinize the sheriff’s numbers — and what, if anything, they want to change as a result.
Data Snapshot: Fort Bend Traffic Stops (2025)
Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Racial Profiling Report
• Black residents: 23% of the county population
• Black drivers stopped: 39% of traffic stops
• Black drivers searched: 43.6% of searches
• Stops in unincorporated areas: 41%
• Racial profiling complaints filed: 0
Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Racial Profiling Report (2025)
https://agendalink.fortbendcountytx.gov/docs/2026/CCTR/20260226_4070/67178_2025_Traffic_Stop_RP_Report.pdf
