MPD officer retires after 35 years

Published 11:45 am Monday, January 4, 2016

Officer Lee McClendon is retiring after 35 years of serving and protecting the City of Moody. He spent around half of his career as a detective, with a high case-closing rate. In his many years of service, he has left a lasting impression on the officers he worked with, as well as his community as a whole.

“He’s put in a lot of years with the City of Moody, we are definitely going to miss him,” Moody Police Chief Thomas Hunt said. “He has been a huge asset and we’re really going to miss him for both his knowledge and his friendship.”

Chief Hunt said that an officer with as much experience and success as McClendon has had is a rare find, and will definitely be hard to replace.

“He’s a great guy and such a wealth of knowledge,” Hunt said. “Definitely a valuable part of our department and that will be missed.”

After so many years of being with the department, retirement will be bittersweet. McClendon thoroughly enjoyed working with others who were equally dedicated to serving their community.

“The working relationship was wonderful with the other officers,” McClendon said. “We all respected each other and joined together as a team.”

In addition to his work on the force, McClendon worked to go the extra mile to enhance his community. One of his notable career achievements is the implementation of the D.A.R.E. program at the Moody schools, in 1992. He worked with students through that program and quickly grew fond of working with students.

“They were a wonderful group of kids, and I wanted a way to stay involved even after the program,” McClendon said. “My heart was really in it, I wanted to protect those kids.”

After he stopped teaching the program, he was able to move into a position that allowed him to continue being with the students. For the end of his career, McClendon served as the School Resource Officer. He spent his days at the Moody schools, acting as security for the campuses.

“During my time there, we did not experience any violent crimes,” McClendon said. “And, that’s not just credited to me, but to the wonderful administration and faculty.”

Between his work with the school system and his work with the police force, McClendon has spent a significant amount of time serving the Moody community.

“It was an absolute pleasure to protect and serve the city of Moody,” McClendon said. “An absolute pleasure. For all those years, I have no regrets.”