Dressed in his best blues, Assistant Chief Bob Lee raised his right hand, repeated the oath after Mayor Pete Lewis and was sworn in as Auburn’s new chief of police at Monday’s City Council meeting.
Lee succeeds former chief Jim Kelly, who has retired to become the deputy director of the new misdemeanor jail in Des Moines.
Kelly, who joined the Auburn force in 1979, had been the department’s police chief for 11 years.
Lee introduced members of his family, then praised the professionalism and dedication of officers he has worked with in Auburn and regionally
He singled out his old boss, Kelly, who sat beaming in civilian clothes in the front row of seats.
“You on the Council can be assured I have no intention of changing the direction,” Lee said, adding that he would keep working to ensure that the Auburn Police Department continues to be “a professional and respected organization”.
Lee began his law enforcement career with the Auburn Police Department in 1981. He spent more than six years on patrol and more than two years as an investigator before his promotion to the rank of sergeant in 1990.
As a sergeant, Lee served in the patrol division for two years and spent two years as the special investigations unit sergeant.
He then spent two years as the sergeant for the South King County Narcotics Task Force, supervising a regional team of four narcotics detectives, a King County prosecutor and an administrative assistant. In 1996, he was promoted to the rank of commander and assigned to the patrol, investigations and administrative divisions. During his last two years as a commander, he also was assigned to serve as commander of the Valley Special Response Team.
Lee earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Columbia Southern University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Leadership Institute of South King County. He is a member of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and the FBI National Academy Associate (Washington Chapter).
