Don't move to Katy, Houston or Texas for that matter (China: fit in, felon)

[Beach Bound]

Don't move to Katy, TX if your skin tone is anything but pearly-white or at the very least off-white.

My husband and I moved to Katy, TX in 2005 from Phoenix. I had lived there for 25 years and was wanting to experience new scenery/weather/people. My husband (who is black) and I (am white) were concerned about the demographics of Katy (only 4.2% black) and whether we would be accepted into the community.

I did my research diligently. I looked into resale value of homes, I looked at taxes and school districts, I read forums and after months of investigation we came down here and looked at houses. We talked to the realtor, we talked to people in the community and the citizens re-assured us that Katy was not a racist town.

Don't get fooled like we did. The first year we were here my husband was strip searched in a Kroger by security guards who said he was stealing. He was made to remove his clothing down to his underwear in the security office and was denied any legal recourse. Ofcourse, he wasn't stealing from Kroger and they "apologized" and let him go. Since then he has been stopped by police - Katy Constables, Harris County Sheriff's, Houston Police no less than 12 times - mostly just for driving at night and being black. The last time resulted in being arrested and held for 5 days for an unpaid traffic ticket for failure to completely stop at a stop sign - which was a bogus charge because he did fully stop. He should have taken care of the ticket, yes, but none the less 5 days in jail without being allowed contact with his family is excessive. (The abuse stories while in jail are another thread I"ll write when I have the will to detail the horror he experienced.)

Ok, now the nay sayers are going crazy with this thread. He must have deserved being incarcerated (forgive spelling if error) he must have provoked the security guard at Kroger, he must look like a felon (which by the way is called profiling)... Wrong. We are respectable middle class people who are polite and educated and treat people right and with respect. None of the wrath he has experienced has been deserved.

And so, after having lived in Katy, TX, through the eyes and heart and sole of a person who is important to me I can say that this is not the place for anyone who is non-white and wants to live with dignity. The police and people with any kind of authority (down to security guards who do, by the way, carry more than a night stick) are out of control. And if you are white you're not going to see it, you're not going to experience it and you will believe it doesn't exist. Well, police brutality is alive and well in Katy, TX in 2010.

[glorplaxy]

Wow. I'm sorry this happened to you but I can't say I wouldn't expect it from Katy. It's definitely not as bad in the Houston innercity area, though.

[desertsun41]

So are you pulling the race card? That will lose you respect quick. Look my friend, what you describe is what they call "guilty by black" right? The domestic terrorists dont just pick on you. Once they leave the donut shop in the morning, those members of the worlds largest street gang of thugs with badges pick on everyone who is different. I am white but my very long hair draws the attention of the donut connoisseurs often too. I get picked on, stopped just to check, looked at crooked.....just because I dont fit their perfect citizen profile.

Dont blame Katy. Blame the brainwashed citizens who have been brought up to believe the oink oinks are bigger better and badder then God. They profile everyone....and yes as you suggest, probably especially black people.

Good luck to you. I have no answers or suggestions for you. Dress average and just fit in. Stay away from McDonalds in the mornings where you will find them begging for their free breakfast from the poor minimum wage clerks.

[rigas]

i find all of this hard to believe, i have lived in katy and while i am white, i have had MANY black friends, hell one of my closest friends husband in black (she is white) and he is out all ours of the night (we all used to frequent MO's place 3-5 nights a week). not once has he been arrested.

as for 5 days in jail, my suggestion would be 1st pay the ticket or go to court and plead not guilty and get a trial, get it dismissed, 2nd if you do find yourself (or spouse) in jail, (city, county doesnt mater) then you going to do one of 2 things, pay the fine and get released, or sit on your tail and "earn the days" which is usually $100 per day (or 1 day for every 100 you owe) now some jails have a 2 for one (harris county does) so for every day you stay you get double. if your husband was jailed for 5 days on a traffic ticket he didnt pay, it had little to do with the ticket and more to do with the failure to appear. those charges can get expensive.

about 5 yrs ago i pulled into a gas station after leaving the bank (across the street in a not so good part of town). after coming out with a 12 pack on my way home a rather "skanky" girl came walking up to my truck asking me if i could give her a ride. before i could get the word no out of my mouth 2 cops came flying into the parking lot, lights on and all that. they put me in the car accusing me of "flagging down a prostitute". now i love my wife, my son, my health and my dignity so no flaggy flaggy for me. after about an hour they tell me well your going to jail, to which i responded for what you know i was not doing anything wrong. they said "you have a warrant for failure to appear from 1994. more then 10 yrs earlier. they let me call my wife and arrange for someone to come get my truck so i didnt have to tow it (and pay those fees), she came to the jail and payed the fines and i was released in less then 24 hours. the worst part was being accused of something i would never do and then having to have my wife and then 18 month old son come all the way down town to the nasty jail and sit there and wait for me for several hours in the middle of the night. (i tried to tell her to wait till the next day but no way).

as for abuses, i have heard of some in harris county (a place i resided for a little bit in my youth) but NONE of it was unprovoked. the jailers where as easy on you as you where on them. they didnt get off on messing with people, but they didnt like being messed with either. general population could be rough it all depended on who you had in your pod.

bottom line, this whole thread seems fishy to me. sounds like another "the mans holding me down" type BS. maybe its just me but then i had that attitude when i was younger myself.

[Zhang Fei]

What's the zip code of the area where your hubby was harassed?

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I've never witnessed this. I've been here 30 years, and I've always been treated fairly. In fact, I've been pulled over more than once, and each time I was only given a warning. I am sorry you have experienced this.

The fact that your husband ignored his tickets, court dates, fines and was arrested hints, to me anyway, that he's not all that innocent as you make him out to be. No responsible person would ignore a ticket.

[LizzySWW]

I'm wondering why your husband ever agreed to move to Katy?? If I married an Asian guy I wouldn't move to China town.

Maybe you should look into some areas of town with a more balanced black & white mix.

Let public school demographics be your guide.

[dcoolbro]

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's ordeal. Those sorts of things shouldn't happen. But I know of at least 3 black homeowner's in Katy and they all seem to love it there. Of course Katy isn't my cup of tea, but I haven't heard the sort of incidents you describe.

[Beach Bound]

In my last sentence of the original post I wrote "And if you are white you're not going to see it, you're not going to experience it and you will believe it doesn't exist. Well, police brutality is alive and well in Katy, TX in 2010." I knew this post would provoke people who want to defend their community and I don't deny that the general public and the surroundings are lovely. I also don't deny that it was irresponsible to ignore a traffic ticket. I only wanted to point out that profiling and abuse of power happen. From the man who said he has long hair and doesn't fit the model citizen mold I now know that anyone could be targeted by "the authorities". And nope, its not just another "the man" is holding me down story. People will believe what they want. I can only share the experience as truthfully possible.

[XodoX]

Originally Posted by Beach Bound

Don't move to Katy, TX if your skin tone is anything but pearly-white or at the very least off-white.

My husband and I moved to Katy, TX in 2005 from Phoenix. I had lived there for 25 years and was wanting to experience new scenery/weather/people. My husband (who is black) and I (am white) were concerned about the demographics of Katy (only 4.2% black) and whether we would be accepted into the community.

I did my research diligently. I looked into resale value of homes, I looked at taxes and school districts, I read forums and after months of investigation we came down here and looked at houses. We talked to the realtor, we talked to people in the community and the citizens re-assured us that Katy was not a racist town.

Don't get fooled like we did. The first year we were here my husband was strip searched in a Kroger by security guards who said he was stealing. He was made to remove his clothing down to his underwear in the security office and was denied any legal recourse. Ofcourse, he wasn't stealing from Kroger and they "apologized" and let him go. Since then he has been stopped by police - Katy Constables, Harris County Sheriff's, Houston Police no less than 12 times - mostly just for driving at night and being black. The last time resulted in being arrested and held for 5 days for an unpaid traffic ticket for failure to completely stop at a stop sign - which was a bogus charge because he did fully stop. He should have taken care of the ticket, yes, but none the less 5 days in jail without being allowed contact with his family is excessive. (The abuse stories while in jail are another thread I"ll write when I have the will to detail the horror he experienced.)

Ok, now the nay sayers are going crazy with this thread. He must have deserved being incarcerated (forgive spelling if error) he must have provoked the security guard at Kroger, he must look like a felon (which by the way is called profiling)... Wrong. We are respectable middle class people who are polite and educated and treat people right and with respect. None of the wrath he has experienced has been deserved.

And so, after having lived in Katy, TX, through the eyes and heart and sole of a person who is important to me I can say that this is not the place for anyone who is non-white and wants to live with dignity. The police and people with any kind of authority (down to security guards who do, by the way, carry more than a night stick) are out of control. And if you are white you're not going to see it, you're not going to experience it and you will believe it doesn't exist. Well, police brutality is alive and well in Katy, TX in 2010.

I'm tired of people saying this. Bla bla bla. You do realize that Katy is rather small? Just because there are a some whites living in Katy dosen't mean it's the way you described it.

If I would scream "racism" everytime I feel treated unfairly by the police, I would be screaming it all day long I've been stopped several times as well for no apparent reaon... to me. So what. Suck it up or complain to HPD.
Also, there are not just white people working in Katy, especially at Kroger. Let's not forget about the jail.
Sometiems it seems like it's always easy to blame others. Unless you have real proof, I would never ever accuse someone of this.