A sexual harassment complaint against Flower Mound's two top elected officials was filed by the town's chief of police, according to documents released Tuesday.
In his complaint, Police Chief Kenneth Brooker said he saw Mayor Jody Smith and Mayor Pro Tem Jean Levenick approach a Flower Mound police officer as he stood in the Town Hall lobby prior to a Nov. 2 council meeting.
Brooker said he saw the officer suddenly jump and mutter something like, "I guess I got my Christmas goose early this year."
When asked about the incident the next day, the officer said the women pinched him on the behind as they stood on either side of him. The split-second incident was captured on the town's security cameras.
The Dallas Morning News received a copy of the videotape and the original complaint on Tuesday, after the Texas Attorney General's office ruled they could not be withheld under the state's open records laws. The News had requested the documentation in January.
Both women were cleared of sexual harassment by an independent investigation.
On Tuesday, Smith questioned the chief's motivations. She said town officials were conducting job evaluations for Brooker and other top employees at the time, and she noted she has questioned his job performance.
She also questioned whether he actually witnessed the incident, and said the investigation could have been handled in a less formal manner.
Brooker declined to comment Tuesday on Smith allegations.
In his complaint, Brooker stated that he believed the women's actions were "acts of sexual harassment" that violated the town's personnel and administrative regulations.
"This was just a matter of following procedures," said Flower Mound police Capt. Wendell Mitchell, speaking on behalf of the chief.
Levenick, who declined to comment Tuesday, also implied earlier that the complaint was politically motivated.
An outside law firm hired by the town to investigate the chief's complaint found that the women's conduct "did not rise to the level of sexual harassment." However, both women "acknowledged that their actions, while intended to be in fun, were not appropriate workplace conduct," according to an investigation report.
Smith brought up the issue at Jan. 21 Town Council meeting, calling it a "smear campaign."
Since then, Levenick decided not to seek re-election. Smith is running in a contested race to keep her seat.
