After three years of service as detachment commander in Cranbrook, S/Sgt. Hector Lee clocked in for his final day in the Key City last week, before transitioning to a new role in Kelowna.
Lee, who arrived in Cranbrook three years ago to replace the outgoing S/Sgt. Dave Dubnyk, will remain in the province, having accepted a role where he will be serving in an advisory capacity to six detachments in the northern part of Southeast District.
“Cranbrook is fortunate to have a senior and very high calibre detachment, not just police officers, but municipal staff as well and that’s what makes it work here,” said Lee. “The community itself has been very welcoming to me since my arrival. Very pro-police, very supportive; they support us in some of our events that we’ve held like the Cram-the-Cruiser events or the Cops for Kids. This community has been very generous.”
A new detachment commander hasn’t been named yet, however, Sgt. Barry Graham and Sgt. Chris Dodds will be jointly in charge of managing Cranbrook RCMP resources with a ringing endorsement from Lee.
“We work as a team and we’ve been trying to accomplish a lot of different goals when it comes to our annual performance planning and what the city wants and what the community wants,” said Lee. “Having to be able to balance what other groups want as opposed to what the city wants and where we think policing should go, they’re both very strong in being able to recognize those things.”
Over the last few years, Lee has helmed the detachment through a number of challenges and initiatives, which include establishing an RCMP member dedicated as a mental health liaison, tackling the issue of fentanyl that has reached the community and navigating the changes around the legalization of marijuana.
trevor.crawley@cranbrooktownsman.com
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