Teacher, parent accuse Harris County deputy of racial profiling

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An elementary school PE teacher and a parent are accusing a Harris County Precinct Five Deputy of racial profiling.

"Yesterday Wednesday I was picking up my daughter from the recreation summer camp that the school is doing, and the coach walked her to my car when he saw me pull up and we were sitting there talking," says Rachel Thuro.

As Coach Shawn Narcisse walked away, Thuro says a Precinct Five deputy constable made a U-turn and pulled up beside her.

"I thought at first maybe he thought there was something wrong with my car," she says. "But when I said 'No I'm just picking up my daughter from the camp here at the school,' he said, 'Oh well the way he was gesturing with his hands,' and then he trailed off. And I realized he was talking about coach."

"I asked the cop, I was like what did I do wrong? He was like 'I was looking at your body language.' And she told the cop 'He works here,'" coach Shawn Narcisse says.

Narcisse, Ashford Elementary's Teacher of the Year, says he believes he was racially profiled.

"He probably thought something was going on, like I was about to attack her or something like that," Narcisse said.

"When he said something about him gesturing with his hands, I knew that's what it was immediately," adds Thuro.

But according to Precinct Five Chief Ted Heap, the deputy says he saw Narcisse pointing in the car and waving and turned around to make sure there was no domestic dispute going on. Chief Heap says that isn't out of the ordinary.

The deputy also says Narcisse asked, "What, can I talk to this white woman?" and the deputy told him he could talk to whoever he wants.

Narcisse says there's no way this was a misunderstanding.

"By far you can identify that this man does something at the school by the way I'm dressed. It's a no brainer. And I'm carrying kids back and forth," he said.

Chief Heap says in hindsight, had the deputy stopped to actually have a conversation with Narcisse, this may be a much different story.

Shawn Narcisse says he plans to file a formal complaint. Chief Heap says he encourages anyone who believes they've been wronged by a deputy to do the same thing. They can't open a formal investigation until that happens.

Chief Heap also says he's never gotten a complaint against this deputy.