[5] McClelland became a patrol officer in May 1977, and worked his way up through assignments with sex crimes units and the homicide division.

[9] When racial tensions at the city's Northeast Patrol Division boiled over in 1992, McClelland and Capt.

[1][10] As an assistant chief, he has been at the center of some of HPD's most controversial incidents of recent years, one being the approval of the August 2002 raid on a Kmart parking lot where nearly 300 bystanders were arrested during a crackdown on street racing.

[11] Known as a meticulous investigator, McClelland was brought into one patrol division to quell racial tensions.

[9] Before becoming acting police chief (after the resignation of Chief Harold Hurtt prior to Mayor Bill White leaving office in late 2009 after 3 two year terms under the City of Houston term limit ordinance), McClelland oversaw HPD's investigative operations as an executive assistant chief, which include 1,500 officers, 12 divisions and a $117 million budget.