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.