Moving Into Supervision, DPD Officer Ready To Pass On Experience

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

After 18 years as a police officer and nearly 20 years as a member of the Army Reserve, Patrick Lee has gained a lot of experience. The police department is promoting him to the rank of sergeant this month, and he is on the list for promotion to sergeant major in the military coming this summer, so the next phase of his career will be about passing on what he's learned.

"In the last three years, I've been serving as a field training officer, training our newer recruits. That's been rewarding to me," Lee said. "I kind of did it to gain a little better perspective, but certainly it's helped me to become a better officer, I think... (moving up to sergeant) there's a lot to learn, but I am looking forward to it. It's going to be a challenge but I'm pretty eager to try and make a positive impact." 

Caption: Patrick Lee (right) poses with Chief Cliff Cason after being presented for promotion at Tuesday morning's meeting of the Public Safety Commission

"I figured that if I was going to hang around long enough that I would eventually get into (supervision), but my time training other officers and seeing the impact that I had there has made me kind of excited to see what kind of impact I could make and what kind of influence I can make on a shift as a whole," Lee continued. "That's kind of what influenced me to try out for promotion."

Lee's promotion was presented to the Public Safety Commission on Tuesday during their monthly meeting, and he will officially begin his new assignment on January 31st. He's twice been honored as the the police department's Officer of Month, and he has received five letters of commendation for outstanding performance. His military career has seen him achieve the rank of master sergeant after deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar, and two deployments to eastern Europe. He is on the promotion list for sergeant major this July. Lee earned his bachelor's degree from Dalton State College in 2013 and also studied at Lee University and Cleveland State Community College. In 2017, he earned his master's degree from American Military University. 

"He is one of the higher ranking enlisted individuals in his unit (in the Army Reserve) and he has had significant leadership roles on multiple deployments. So, he brings those skills sets to the table with him," Police Chief Cliff Cason said. "So, it's not gonna be a new process of leading men and women. It will be the same thing just in a different environment... he's got a lot of knowledge. about patrol operations, and that sort of thing, and we thought it would be beneficial for him to be able to help share that knowledge and experience, and the leadership skills he's developed in the military. So, it's gonna be a really good fit for him."

Growing up, Lee says that he didn't envision a career in law enforcement, but his military service inspired him to put on a badge. 

"After I joined the military, I enjoyed what I was doing. The military was kind of connected to the public service. And a lot of the guys in the unit when I first joined were cops and they said, well, you know, you should get into law enforcement," Lee said. "Honestly, when I first joined (the DPD I wasn't expecting to make a full career of it, but I thought it'd be something cool to do for a little bit while I finish my schooling. I was still working on my undergrad degree at that time. But, you know, I got into it and I found that I really enjoyed it. And so I've stuck it out and now I've made a career out of it unexpectedly."

Lee says that he sees the police department's role in the community as a partnership. He believes it's important to build trust in the community to create a safe city. 

"As far as my overall philosophy, I think it's just treating people with dignity and respect, even when, maybe they're in the wrong. I think that goes a long way. You know, everybody might mess up now and then, but (you) treat people fairly in every situation. Whether they've broken the law, you have to be professional with people," Lee said. "I live in the community where I work, I live in the city. Some people think, oh, it's kind of iffy, living where you work because you might create some enemies. That might happen... but when you treat people with dignity and respect and being professional with people that I think that goes a long way."

In his free time, Lee prioritizes spending time with his family. He has been married to his wife Brooke for 25 years, and they have four daughters.