I Was a Cop in One of America’s Most Violent Cities — Here’s What I Saw | Mike Morgan

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 745 Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 137 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mike Morgan joins Locked In with Ian Bick to share his journey from growing up as the son of a New York firefighter to becoming a police officer in two of America’s toughest cities. After starting out as an accountant, Mike realized it wasn’t his passion and moved to Atlanta, where he spent 10 years policing one of the most violent cities in the country before returning to New York for nearly 20 more years on the job. In this episode, he opens up about the realities of law enforcement, the trauma that built up over decades, and the dark, haunting moments that stayed with him long after the job. Mike also shares how everything eventually caught up to him, what finally broke him, and how he turned to psychedelics in an attempt to heal and rebuild his life. _____________________________________________ #PoliceStory #AtlantaPolice #NYPD #LawEnforcement #TrueCrime #CopLife #CrimeStories #LockedInPodcast _____________________________________________ Connect with Mike Morgan: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheResilientWarriorNation/featured Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientwarrior5778 Buy his book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1965971334?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_9GXQBVAG55SDHSE14Z3F&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_9GXQBVAG55SDHSE14Z3F&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_9GXQBVAG55SDHSE14Z3F&bestFormat=true Website: https://theresilientwarriornation.com _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 From Family Life to Law Enforcement (Full Story) 07:43 Choosing to Become a Police Officer 13:19 Policing in Atlanta: The Reality of the Job 21:19 Early Trauma & First Experiences on Duty 33:33 Delivering Death Notifications & Coping with Loss 40:33 Violence, Survival & Mental Health as a Cop 47:47 Dangerous Calls & Motorcycle Patrol Stories 55:28 Family Struggles & Life Outside the Job 01:05:44 Most Memorable Calls & Traumatic Moments 01:12:27 The Call That Changed Everything 01:18:02 Injury, Identity Crisis & Life After the Job 01:25:59 Psychedelic Healing & Recovery Journey 01:32:54 Finding Purpose After Trauma 01:41:01 Addiction, Recovery & Speaking Out 01:53:41 Ibogaine Experience & Confronting Childhood Trauma 02:07:44 Healing, Empathy & Breaking the Cycle 02:13:05 Life Today, Book & Lessons Learned _____________________________________________ To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Atlanta was so violent and I worked in the hood.
0:02.6	So there was so much violence that I was surrounded with.
0:05.2	What was a call that hit you in the heart?
0:06.7	We were shooting at us. We gave chase. So we go into this apartment. They open the door. I look behind a door. My name is Mike Morgan. I did 30 years as an active police officer. The first 10 and almost a half were Atlanta Police Department. and the remainder was the Suffolk County Police Department on Long Island in New York.
0:22.4	Mike Morgan talks about policing some of America's The half were Atlanta Police Department, and the remainder was the Suffolk County Police Department
0:20.9	on Long Island in New York.
0:22.4	Mike Morgan talks about policing some of America's most violent cities, the trauma that
0:26.9	built up over nearly 30 years on the job, the dark moments that stayed with him, and what
0:31.7	finally broke him.
0:43.7	I grew up in North Belmore, just over the sound, Long Island, about 45 minutes east of Manhattan.
0:46.4	If you go Long Island Railroad.
0:47.6	What was your upbringing like?
0:49.6	Upringing.
0:52.2	I had a father who was a farm in the FDMI.
0:55.5	My mom was a secretary in a local school district. I had a sister that was a farm in the FDMI. My mom was a secretary in a local school district.
1:02.1	I had a sister that was two years younger. Very sports oriented kid. I love sports my whole life.
1:07.0	I was a rambunctious kid. If this was in today's day and age, I probably would have been
1:11.0	prescribed or they would have attempted to give me Ritalin or Adderall.
1:15.1	I remember I had to sit next to the teacher, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade.
1:20.1	Sixth grade, I used to have to bring home a memo book for daily behavior reports.
1:21.3	It was unbelievable.
1:24.9	Ms. Bergman just didn't like Mike the class clan. I was never disrespectful, but always cloning around.
	...

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