Inspector marks retirement with special charity cycle ride

What a way to say goodbye.

After three decades of service, Inspector Lee Morris is hanging up his cuffs for his well-earned retirement.

Joining the force in the footsteps of his father, Detective Sergeant Alan Morris, in August 1995, Inspector Morris initially served on the Durham City, Sherburn, Bowburn and Chester le Street teams before being promoted to Sergeant in Bishop Auckland in 2003.

He moved to Traffic in 2005 where he was TPAC and firearms trained before becoming a Senior Investigating Officer for serious and fatal road traffic collisions.

He was promoted again to Inspector in 2018 and for the last year has supported officers as Vice Chair and Treasurer for the Police Federation branch office.

It’s been in this role that he’s been involved with the annual Care of Police Survivors Police UK Unity Tour for the last five years, providing vital support to officers taking part in the charity cycle ride to raise funds for the families of colleagues who have died in the line of duty.

Insp Morris set off with this year’s team on Thursday before reaching the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Sunday – his last working day with the force.

Speaking about his time as an officer, he said: “As every officer will tell you, we’ve all had to deal with a lot of horrible incidents where people are having the worst day of their lives but there’s also been some really great highlights too and it really is a job like no other.

“One of the highlights for me was being part of the planning team for President George W Bush’s visit in 2003 and I actually got to meet him which was quite special and my parents still have the official photograph up.

“I also once got commendations for confronting an angry mob of youths, dealing with a man driving the wrong way down the A1M and a fatal shooting incident which were all really memorable jobs.”

Insp Morris said serving his last day on the Unity Tour was really special and he plans to continue volunteering for the event.

“It’s particularly special to have this as my last day – here ends an era,” he said.

Still just 50, the young retiree plans to have the summer off to spend quality time with his wife Jo and son, Samuel, before seeing what the future holds in store for him. 

Thank you for your service 1321.