Top Supervisor Award
Floyd Lee Smith
Anaheim Police Department
The Top Supervisor Award is given to law enforcement supervisors who, through their performance, go beyond the call of duty to improve officer safety, interdepartmental relations and the agency’s public image. The Top Supervisor excels in the ability to not only train and supervise but also manages to gain the confidence and respect of those under his or her supervision.
Sergeant F. Lee Smith’s career has been devoted to the training of police officers on the Anaheim Police Department, assuring that they make it home to their loved ones at the end of their shifts. Lee Smith served with the United States Marine Corps from 1973 to 1977, attaining the rank of sergeant. He became an officer with Newport Beach in 1978, and in 1983 moved to the Anaheim Police Department.
As an officer, Sergeant Smith was a member of SWAT and the Crime Task Force, and worked a variety of assignments. He has performed as a field training officer, intelligence officer and detective. In 1996, Smith was promoted to the position of police sergeant. Previously earning the reputation as a hard-working street cop who cares for his department and peers, Smith was easily accepted by those peers as a supervisor.
Sergeant Smith’s well-rounded knowledge and his knack for training quickly became an asset to his department. During his tenure as sergeant, he has trained a countless number of officers in gang awareness, weaponless arrest and control techniques, use of the ASP collapsible baton, .223 Carbine rifle, M16 and MP5 submachine guns, basic high-risk search warrant tactics, aerobics, karate, first responder and rapid deployment, patrol survival and officer-involved shootings.
Sergeant Smith is a member of the National Tactical Officers Association, California Tactical Officers Association, American Society of Law Enforcement, Orange County Homicide Investigators Association and California Narcotics Officers Association.
Sergeant Smith has earned and enjoyed a “cop’s cop” reputation from the line officer to the police chief. The late Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Malloy once said of Sergeant Smith, “I wish I had a hundred more like him.” The Anaheim Association’s president, Sergeant Greg Palmer, has remarked countless times that if there was one person that he could count on to save his life in a dangerous situation, it would be Lee Smith. And Captain Steve Rodig, the Patrol Division Commander, said, “He is a true professional, tireless and diligent; and he is compassionate, caring and committed to making our community a better place to live. Lee has left a lasting impression on countless individuals through the years.
Sergeant Smith is retiring this November, and his peers from the Anaheim Police Department wanted to let him know how much he is appreciated by nominating him as the Top Supervisor in the state of California.
