Editor’s note: This story contains details of domestic and sexual violence and thoughts of suicide that readers may find disturbing. If you are experiencing domestic violence and need help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 800.799.SAFE (7233) or visit https://www.thehotline.org/.
Former Lubbock Deputy Police Chief Leath McClure is facing a civil lawsuit from a subordinate employee who accused him of physically, emotionally and sexually abusing her while they were dating and working together at the police department.
The woman is seeking compensation against McClure for the physical pain, suffering and mental anguish she suffered at his hands and the lingering consequences thereof.
The Lubbock County Courthouse.
“Plaintiff’s injury was the immediate and direct result of (McClure’s) violent contact,” the lawsuit said.
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal does not identify victims of domestic and alleged sexual abuse.
It was not immediately clear whether McClure, who is 10 months into an 18-month community supervision term after pleading guilty to a Class A charge of deadly conduct, has hired an attorney to represent him in the civil suit.
The woman is seeking between $250,000 and $1 million against McClure, who opened an advertising business in September in the 107000 block of County Road 2500.
Allegations of abuse
The lawsuit details the same allegations disclosed in the probable cause affidavit that led to McClure’s arrest on Oct. 19, 2023, on two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of continuous violence against a dating partner .
According to the affidavit, McClure and the employee began a romantic relationship in May 2021, shortly after the employee returned to law enforcement for a second time.
The lawsuit states that McClure, who was a lieutenant in the department’s Administrative Support Division and the woman’s immediate supervisor at the time, sent her a text message confessing his feelings for her.
However, McClure’s anger and possessive nature would soon surface and dominate the relationship for the next two and a half years, the lawsuit said.
In February 2022, McClure, who began working for the Lubbock Police Department in 2005, was promoted to captain and remained part of the employee’s chain of command until August 2023, when he was promoted to deputy chief to oversee the East Patrol Division Station in the 1900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Meanwhile, McClure routinely searched the woman’s phone and isolated her from her family and friends.
“McClure became incredibly jealous and would fly into a rage if the plaintiff smiled at another man,” the lawsuit said. “McClure demanded to know where Plaintiff was at all times…Plaintiff lived in fear of McClure.”
The employee described a deteriorating professional and personal relationship with McClure, punctuated by physical and verbal abuse. She said she believed McClure’s use of steroids contributed to his behavior, the affidavit said.
McClure’s alleged abuse escalated when he learned of the employee’s previous romantic relationship with another police officer, called her derogatory names and forced her to resign. The employee ultimately submitted her resignation, but withdrew it and continues to work for the police.
The employee told investigators that the first episode of physical abuse occurred in December 2022. She said she was with her mother when he called her. She described McClure as livid and said he told her to meet him at her apartment, where he told her she deserved to be beaten by him.
She said McClure punched her in the left cheek.
In February, the employee told investigators that McClure was in her apartment and seemed suicidal and angry with her, but she could not remember why.
As they sat in her living room, she said McClure grabbed his gun and threatened to shoot himself. However, he also pointed the gun at her head and threatened to shoot her. She said he put their heads together in a way that made her believe he was going to shoot them both at the same time, the warrant said.
Two weeks later, on March 8, she said McClure confronted her at her apartment about her previous relationship. She said she apologized to McClure, but he punched her and pushed her against a door, causing her to hit the doorknob and slide hard to the floor.
She said McClure, who was wearing his police badge at the time, grabbed her by the throat as she stood up, ordered her to sit on a dining room chair, pressed his service weapon to her head and threatened to shoot her if he did. Don’t tell him the truth, the warrant says.
She told investigators she thought she was about to die.
In the recently filed petition in the 72nd District Court, the woman said McClure returned to her apartment a few days after the physical assaults.
“This time he was there for sex,” the petition states.
The document states that McClure forced the woman to perform a sex act on him.
“The more she protested and the more she cried, the more agitated he became,” the petition said.
On Oct. 2, she said, McClure returned to her apartment and raped her.
Two days later, the woman reported the abuse to her supervisor and a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit investigation began, ultimately resulting in McClure’s arrest.
However, the probable cause affidavit filed in McClure’s arrest warrant did not include the sexual assault allegations.
McClure resigned from the Lubbock Police Department in November 2023.
McClure’s felony cases were never presented to a Lubbock County grand jury. Instead, McClure accepted a plea deal in February with the Ector County district attorney, who served as special prosecutor after the Lubbock County district attorney dismissed the case.
Under the agreement, McClure pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor count of deadly conduct and was given a deferred adjudication for 18 months.
He also surrendered his peace officer’s license.
As part of the settlement, his felony cases were dismissed.
In Texas, a Class A conviction disqualifies people from obtaining a peace officer license.
A deferred arbitration agreement places an offender under community supervision, much like probation. However, once the offender completes supervision under a deferred arbitration agreement, the case will be dismissed and the conviction will not be entered.
According to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor conviction, even if deferred, disqualifies offenders from obtaining a peace officer license.
This article originally appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Ex-deputy chief of Lubbock police faces civil suit over assault allegations
