Darrin Lee has 30 years of law enforcement experience working with both the Covina Police Department and the Anaheim Police Department. During his tenure with the Covina Police Department, Darrin was assigned as a Patrol Officer, D.A.R.E. Instructor, Gang Detective, and Problem-Oriented Policing Officer. Wishing to broaden his professional reach, Darrin transferred to the Anaheim Police Department where he gained experience working as a Community Policing Officer, Primary Response Officer, P.O.S.T. Arrest & Control Instructor, and P.O.S.T. Racial Profiling Instructor. As a sergeant, Darrin lead the Emergency Management Bureau, Training Detail, Peer Support Team, Mobile Field Force Team, and Burglary-Auto Theft Detail. Upon promoting to lieutenant, Darrin was assigned as a Patrol Watch Commander and later a District Commander, overseeing the West District Community Policing Team and Psychiatric Emergency Response Team. In 2020, he and Therapy Dog Charlie began the department’s first Therapy Dog Program to aid employees and promote their emotional wellness.
Darrin earned his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from CSU Los Angeles, and he has a master’s degree in Sociology from CSU Fullerton. While at CSU Fullerton, Darrin discovered an affinity for higher learning. Since 2005, he has been employed as an adjunct faculty member with CSU Fullerton, teaching part-time in both the Sociology Department and Criminal Justice Department. As a university professor, Darrin has taught courses entitled Law and Society; Criminology; Juvenile Delinquency; Corrections; Deviant Behavior; Social Inequality; Sociology of City Life; and Race, Inequality and the Criminal Justice System. As a consultant with Embassy Consulting Services, he has taught courses in areas of arrest and control, mental illness, and crisis intervention.
In his free time, Darrin enjoys spending time with his wife, an elementary school administrator, and his three children.