Fort Bend’s first black DA brings change to county

Brian Middleton became the face of change when he took office as the first African American district attorney in Fort Bend County.

Beating Republican candidate Cliff Vacek in the 2018 election made Middleton the first person of color elected and the first Democrat to hold the office in 26 years. His historic election also was alongside Democrat KP George, who became the first minority county judge.

“We bear the title of being the most diverse county in the United States, and we should act like it,” said Middleton, 47. “Our governments should reflect that. Our attitudes towards one another should reflect that.”

Middleton has also brought new energy and changes to the courthouse, including renewed efforts on bail reform, human trafficking and the juvenile justice system.

Even with the progress and his new title, Middleton said he still faces stereotypes.

“There have been instances where people are openly hostile,” he said. “People have been very overt in some of their criticism. But I’ve also encountered a lot of people who have provided encouragement, who I didn’t expect to provide me with encouragement. There were certain stereotypes, certain expectations from a black DA that I think are being dispelled.”

Tough decisions

The first few days of Middleton’s term in January brought anguish, as he decided to fire 15 staffers to make room for new employees. All 70-plus staff members were encouraged to reapply for their jobs or other positions.

Middleton lost sleep over the decisions, saying he had to fire friends.

“Every now and then I run into some of these people, and it still hurts,” he said. “The decision came because I realized I needed to do what was best for the office and for the community.”

Middleton was intentional about making diverse hires, noting that their experiences and cultural backgrounds help better serve the criminal justice system. Among his hires were veteran attorneys, experienced judges and Republicans.

“It was very painful walking in and out of these offices and seeing no diversity,” Middleton said. “It was important for me to come in and increase diversity, increase awareness, increase training so we can eliminate some of the disparities and inequalities that were existing.”

Ibrahim Khawaja, who was hired as first assistant district attorney, described Middleton as a humble public servant.

“He’s just focused on every resident, no matter what walk of life, what diverse background, what political party. That’s all irrelevant to him,” said Khawaja, who worked as a Harris County prosecutor and a defense lawyer with his own firm. “To him, the most important thing isn’t to score political points, it’s to keep the citizens of Fort Bend County safe and make sure he’s getting the most out of each and every individual prosecutor.”

‘Very visible’ in communities

Before becoming district attorney, the Houston native ran his own law firm in southwest Houston and worked as a municipal prosecutor for the cities of Meadows Place, Jersey Village and Wallis.

He worked in the Fort Bend’s District Attorney Office as aprosecutor under former Republican District Attorney John Healey. During his campaign, he promised criminal justice reform.

He started by tackling bail reform. His office is recommending personal recognizance bonds for low-level, low-risk offenders and offering four new diversion programs for marijuana, cannabis oil, retail theft and driving while intoxicated offenses.

Those efforts have lowered the county’s jail population from 854 inmates in 2018 to 722 in 2019.

Healey, who declined to comment specifically on Middleton’s first term, applauded his community outreach efforts. He said Middleton’s strong background in criminal law, both prosecution and defense, will benefit Fort Bend County residents.

“He has been very visible in the communities,” Healey said, “and has implemented good outreach programs to many communities that will serve the public pretty well in feeling connected to their district attorney’s office.”

Middleton has created community-impact committees with leaders in mental health, criminal justice reform, immigration, domestic violence and other areas. He is also passionate about juvenile justice reform, implementing diversion programs for marijuana and THC offenses, as well as for those who commit assaults at school.

In 2019, Middleton asked the governor’s office for more than $630,000 in grant funds to start a human trafficking division in his office but was denied.

Despite the denial, the office plans to continue to apply to any human trafficking grant available from the governor’s office, Middleton said.

The district attorney’s office also worked alongside other agencies to complete “Operation Freedom,” which brought 64 arrests related to human trafficking and rescued five adults and two teenage girls.

Constable Wayne Thompson for Precinct 3 worked closely with Middleton’s office for the operation. Thompson, a Republican, said his office has worked seamlessly with Middleton’s office to fight human trafficking.

“That’s a perfect example of the way it should be,” Thompson said. “We don’t enforce the laws based on a political party view.”

In the past, Middleton said human trafficking was viewed as something that didn’t happen in the county, but he thinks perceptions are changing.

“The result of our operations has muted the criticism or the claim that it doesn’t exist,” Middleton said. “Even the sheriff at this point has not denied that it exists.”

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls has said there is little evidence of human trafficking within the county, but this year his office established a human trafficking tip line.

Nehls declined to discuss the seriousness of human trafficking in Fort Bend County but said they have two detectives in the sheriff office’s criminal investigations division who work human trafficking cases.

“Our offices are working together,” Nehls said about Middleton. “I don’t see there’s an enormous amount of friction. I hope that we can continue to do the right thing for the criminal justice system and the people of Fort Bend County.”

‘Doing the right thing’

Middleton’s win also signals a political shift in the county.

Middleton and George, the new Democratic county judge, joined forces on issues such as human trafficking but also spoke about the 95 African American remains discovered in Sugar Land. Last February, they signed their names to a letter urging school officials to keep the remains at the site and not build over the cemetery, as they had originally planned.

George said that he and Middleton usually meet monthly to talk about their plans for the county and that they have a good working relationship.

“I’m so honored to see a district attorney who is tough and compassionate at the same time, doing the right thing by the Fort Bend County residents,” George said.

In his second year, Middleton has more plans to improve the district attorney’s office, including applying for additional grants and providing staff training. His office plans to use adata analysis program through New York University to determine whether the office’s practices are making an impact on criminal justice reform.

Middleton, who has three daughters ranging from middle school to college, said he is still figuring out how to balance the demands of being a district attorney and a parent.

But he said he’s proud to be in the role and lead the next generation, saying he gets emails from young people who are inspired by his historic election.

“It becomes a realistic goal to see people who look like them in these positions,” Middleton said. “It raises awareness, not only for the people who look like us, but also for the people who may not look like us to see that we are all equal and capable.” brooke.lewis@chron.com twitter.com/brookelewisa