Ryan Lee

• Rank: Captain I
• Bureau/Division/Office: Olympic Division
• Email: 36603@lapd.online

Bio

In October 2002, Captain Lee was sworn in as a Los Angeles police officer following in the footsteps of his aunt and uncle. From there on he has focused on diversifying his career to give him a broad range of experiences and expertise with a sole purpose of making our communities safer.

Captain Lee has served in a wide-ranging operational, investigative, supervisory, and command roles. His experience includes numerous patrol and specialized assignments including- counter-terrorism, academy instructor, sergeant, and detective. Additionally, he served as the Detective Commanding Officer at North Hollywood Division. Captain Lee is also part of the Department’s Incident Management Teams for large scale planned and spontaneous events.

Captain Lee has worked in various communities and been assigned to Southwest, Pacific, Wilshire, Hollywood, and North Hollywood Divisions, with additional assignments in Metropolitan Division and Emergency Services Division that provided citywide operational and investigative experience. Building on this field experience, Captain Lee has contributed to the Department as both an educator and administrator. A former academy instructor in arrest and control tactics and physical fitness, he has taught criminal justice at the college level and continues to instruct at the LAPD Leadership School. He also served in the Department’s Employee Relations Group, a supervisors-only unit focused on workplace accountability, contract negotiations, and organizational wellness.

Captain Lee is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and African American Studies from UCLA, and completed his graduate studies in Business Management and Leadership from the Graziadio of School of Business at Pepperdine University. Captain Lee was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma in recognition of his academic achievement at Pepperdine University. He also holds a graduate certificate in Public Safety from the University of Virginia.

Captain Lee’s leadership philosophy centers on protecting community spaces to strengthen social bonds, safety, and neighborhood ownership, while fostering healthy work environments and developing resilient, accountable officers and detectives.

He and his wife have been married for over 20 years. They are both NCAA Champions and the proud parents of two children. In Captain Lee’s spare time he enjoys sports, concerts, traveling, and cooking.