By Bill Wolcott/wolcottb@gnnewspaper.com
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
April 07, 2008 12:22 am
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There may be no routine stops in police work.
Officer Aric Morgan of the Lockport Police Department pulled a driver over early in his 3 to 11 p.m. shift for an illegal window tint and a noise violation on Washburn Street that led to a major cocaine bust 18 months later.
“Operation Good Life” broke up a major distribution drug ring that stretched from Amherst to Lockport in March. There were 36 arrests.
Morgan, 34, is a native of New Jersey where his father helped for the Harrison Township Police Department. His father, Alfred J. Morgan is a senior police officer.
Morgan graduated from Niagara University in 1996 and then from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Academy in 2002. He worked as a road deputy and court detail for four years and joined the Lockport Police two years ago at the suggestion of a Lockport officer.
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QUESTION: Where were you at the time of the arrest?
ANSWER: I observed him on Washburn Street. I pulled him over for window tint and a noise violation with his music.
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Q: If it’s against the law, why do drivers use window tint if it calls attention to themselves from police?
A: Cosmetics. It makes the car look nice, but as nice as it looks, it’s a safety violation.
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Q: What’s the procedure? What tipped you off?
A: I heard the vehicle passing me from quite a distance. I observed a window tint violation and made a normal traffic stop. I pulled him over and asked for credentials. I believe his license was suspended also.
Officer Travis Mapes arrived at the location. He was my backup and confirmed what I found. Normally you have a backup to check everything out.
I placed the suspect under arrest and while Officer Mapes was calling it in, I searched the vehicle. Once you arrest the party, he’s responsible for everything inside that vehicle. Sometimes, when you pull someone over and you can find contraband, narcotics, you might find weapons.
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Q: What did you find?
A: In the center console, I found a large quantity of money. That raised my suspicion. It was a couple thousand, maybe more. It was rolled up in a couple bands. Underneath the passenger seat I found a digital scale used for weighing narcotics. There was a white residue on the scale. I believed it to be cocaine.
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Q: Did the suspect have cocaine?
A: It was just residue at the time.
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Q: The arrest started a large-scale investigation?
A: I spoke with officer Mapes and notified my supervisor who notified the drug task force. They did a chemical check of what was on the scale. It was cocaine. At that point on, I turned that whole investigation over to them.
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Q: Was the case out of your hands?
A: With the scale, and the amount of money, you pass it on to detectives right away. They have better resources and different agencies to go along with the investigation further.
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Q: Are you surprised with what this led to?
A: I had no idea what was going on. Once you turn something over to the drug task force, that department, with the county, is incredible. The information they can gather and pass it on to different agencies is a credit to them. Their resources are vast.
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Q: Has there been any dent in the drug traffic since this bust.
A: I don’t know if there’s a dent in it, but they are more aware of what can happen to them. You can sense more on the street that people are watching over their shoulders now.
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Q: A young man from a neighboring town was recently arrested for having imitation drugs. He thought he bought cocaine, but it was fake. Is there a shortage of cocaine now?
A: Sometimes dealer are street savvy and if they think they have a newbie or someone who is not familiar with them, they might try to pass something off just to scam them.
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Q: When you pull somebody over, is there ever a routine stop?
A: Everything is a surprise, but I learned a lot from the guys I transferred over to.
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Q: Why did you transfer from the sheriff’s department to the police department?
A: This is the community I live in. I live in Niagara County but this is where my family grew up. It’s a better fit for me. It’s my community and I want to do something for it.
I saw how much difference my dad made with the department he grew up with.
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Q: Any difference in departments?
A: I learned a lot from the guys in the sheriff’s department, but these guys opened my eyes to a whole lot more from those guys also. My afternoon shift, the guys I work with are incredible officers. You feed off their knowledge. The whole department, I don’t have a bad thing to say about it. It reminds me of my dad’s department in New Jersey. They’re like family. They watch out for one another. Every single day is a new experience. You learn from it. I have awesome supervisors. I have very knowledgeable patrolmen I work with. They have a good team in the sheriff’s department.
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Q: Police seem reluctant to get their names in the paper and avoid ink.
A: People know you from the community. It’s going to be passed around in society no matter what you do. Sometimes it’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s a bad thing. I have no opinion about it.
I appreciate all the attention I got and the recognition from the guys in the department, but I’m only as good as the guys around me. We push each other to do the best job we can do.
Contact reporter Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, ext. 6246.
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