A Chattanooga police officer who was arrested and charged with domestic violence on May 12 was previously suspended from the department for a series of domestic disturbances in 2011, records show.
Officer Leroy Wright is on leave without pay from the police department while internal affairs investigators look into the circumstances around his May 12 arrest, when he admitted to pushing, shoving and pulling his girlfriend during a fight over a purse.
Court and internal affairs records show Wright has a history of misconduct.
In 2011, he was arrested and charged with domestic assault after a series of confrontations with a woman and another police officer at the woman's apartment.
The police chief at the time, Bobby Dodd, ruled that Wright violated department policies, misused police equipment, behaved in an unbecoming way, was insubordinate and did not conform to the law. He gave Wright the maximum 28-day suspension without pay in July 2011, but did not fire him.
Wright was back on the force in August 2011, and the criminal charge was dismissed in 2012 after Wright completed anger management classes.
According to the 2011 internal affairs report, Wright was involved in three domestic disorders at an apartment complex on Shallowford Road in December 2010 and January 2011.
The incidents centered on a woman with whom he was romantically involved, according to police. The woman, who was married to another man, denied she was romantically involved with Wright.
She called 911 three times on three different days because Wright was pounding on her apartment door, shouting at her, refusing to leave her apartment and fighting with her. In one of the 911 calls, both the woman and Wright can be heard arguing and there seems to be a struggle over the phone before the call cuts off, according to the internal affairs report.
Wright also verbally fought with another man - also a police officer - who was staying at the woman's apartment.
Wright saw the officer's personal car parked near the woman's apartment and used his patrol car computer to run the vehicle's license plate and confirm it was the officer's car, according to the internal affairs report. He was on duty when he ran the check on the plate.
Wright has been an officer at the police department since 2004, records show.
His most recent arrest is apparently unrelated to the 2011 incidents and involves a different woman. The woman, Terell Dollmont, 42, also was arrested for the May 12 fight. Investigators determined that both Dollmont and Wright were aggressors in the incident.
Both cases are pending in Hamilton County General Sessions Court.
Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas. Follow @ShellyBradbury.