ASSISTANT CHIEF HANS LEHMAN
Assistant Chief of Police Hans Lehman was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida. He started his public service journey at the age of 14 as a Lakeland Police Explorer from 1984 through 1989 and is a graduate of Kathleen Senior High School. While in college, he began his career in public safety in 1991 as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT with Volusia County Fire Service and later as an EMT with Polk County EMS. Upon graduating from Stetson University (1994) with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, he moved back to Lakeland and began his law enforcement career in 1995 as a Deputy Sheriff with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. He was hired in 1996 as an officer with the Lakeland Police Department.
During his 25 years at LPD, he has worked in or supervised almost every component of the agency. Some of those include Hiring, Recruiting, Training, Planning and Research, state and national Accreditation, Internal Affairs, Fleet & Facilities, Records, 911 Communications, Criminal Investigations, Traffic Homicide, DUI Enforcement, Honor Guard, Aviation Unit, K-9 Unit, School Resource Unit, Crime Prevention, PAL, Uniform Patrol, Field Training Program, Special Events Planning & Management, and Community Policing.
Assistant Chief Lehman holds a Master’s Degree from Troy University (2008) in Criminal Justice Administration and a second Master’s degree from the University of Florida (2018) in Emergency Services/Disaster Management. He is also a graduate of the Southern Police Institute’s Executive Leadership School (126th AOC) at the University of Louisville, the Senior Management Institute for Police (PERF) in Boston and the Florida Police Chiefs Association’s Future Chiefs School. He is a Certified Public Manager through Florida State University, a nationally certified Drug Recognition Expert/Instructor for almost 20 years, and completed the Florida Public Employee Labor Relations Association Negotiator class. Assistant Chief Lehman is also a recent graduate of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Lakeland Class 37 (2019-2020).
Assistant Chief Lehman has been the recipient of numerous awards from the Florida Department of Transportation and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for his efforts in education, prevention, and enforcement of impaired driving. He has also served on the InnerAct Alliance Board and Red Ribbon Run Half Marathon Committee, the statewide Technical Committee for DUI Enforcement and Prosecution (IPTM TAC), NHTSA Impaired Driving Workshops and curriculum revision committees for FDLE.
His professional affiliations include the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Florida Police Chiefs Association, Polk County Police Chiefs Association, Police Executive Research Forum, FBI Law Enforcement Executive Association, Police Unity Tour, and The Lakeland Rotary Club. He is also an FDLE Certified Instructor and an Adjunct Instructor for Polk State College Criminal Justice Academy and the Institute of Police Technology and Management at the University of North Florida.