Brown, Lee P.

Brown, Lee P. (Patrick) (1937–  ) law enforcement, government official; born in Wewoka, Kans. He became a patrolman in San Jose, Calif. (1960) while still an undergraduate at Fresno State University (B.S. 1961). He earned a masters degree in sociology (San Jose University, 1964) and a doctorate in criminology (University of California: Berkeley, 1970). In 1968, he established the Department of Administration of Justice at Portland State University, and in 1972 he joined the faculty of Howard University. By 1975 he was back in Portland as sheriff of Multnomah County. A proponent of foot patrols and community policing, he was Atlanta's public safety commissioner from 1978–82, the police chief of Houston (1982–90), and from 1990–92 the New York City police commissioner. Author of numerous articles, he coauthored Police and Society: An Environment for Collaboration and Confrontation. In 1993, President Clinton made him Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, a cabinet-level position.