Chief Mike Lee, Houston

Chief Mike Lee is the Chief Deputy of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. He is responsible for overseeing all of the daily operations of the HCSO under the direction of Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Chief Lee joined the Sheriff's office in 2017 after 27 years of service with the Houston Police Department. As Major of Patrol and Special Projects, Lee oversaw all patrol operations and created collaborative model strategies for responding to individuals with mental illness and those experiencing homelessness. For the past two years, Lee has served as Assistant Chief over the Law Enforcement Command, managing six bureaus.

Chief Lee's accomplishments at the HCSO include designing and implementing several innovative programs. Among them are: the Crisis Intervention Response Team, the Homeless Outreach Team, the Boarding Home Detail, and the Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation (CORE) telehealth program. Lee led the creation of specialized Crime Reduction Units and the Community Problem Oriented Policing Unit (CPOP) assigned to all five patrol districts. Lee also was a key contributor to multi-agency collaborations that resulted in the creation of the Judge Ed Emmett Mental Health Jail Diversion Center, Harris County's Holistic Assistance Response Team (HART), the Narcan Opioid Reversal Medication project, the Vivitrol Addiction Recovery Program, and the Employ2Empower homeless workforce program.

Chief Lee holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Government and History from Evangel University and a Master of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Our Lady of the Lake University. He also completed the Police Executive Research Forum's Senior Management Institute and Sam Houston State University's Leadership Command College. Lee is also a graduate of the American Leadership Forum.