For 13 years Kevin Morgan was a decorated member of the New York Police Department (NYPD), working out of its 75th Precinct in Brooklyn. Today, after less than two years in Knoxville, the many skills he developed in the Big Apple are coming in quite handy as a “new” officer for the Knoxville Police Department (KPD).

Morgan, 38, is assigned to the East District as a patrol officer and his supervisor, Capt. Nevin Long, is happy to have him. “Officer Morgan brought with him a wealth of knowledge, training and experience from his time in New York, in addition to a strong work ethic,” he said. “The residents of Knoxville and our department are the beneficiaries of his experience. He has been doing a fantastic job and we are very grateful to have him here.”

KPD Officer Kevin Morgan

During family discussions in the summer of 2022, Morgan decided to drive to East Tennessee and visit an uncle who had relocated from New York to Rogersville in Hawkins County. His uncle had been a police officer in a small town but loved East Tennessee. “I was awestruck with the beauty of everything here and how welcoming and friendly the people are here. I even went down to the KPD and talked with a few officers about the department. It sounded like a department I’d enjoy being a part of,” he says.

Once home, he told his wife: “What I saw and felt in Tennessee was not what I expected and I think we can make it work and you and the kids will love it. And they do. We all love it here.” They bought a home in Dandridge that he’s remodeling and building a new deck to enjoy.

The decision he and his wife made in 2022 to uproot life with their three children was both difficult and easy. Difficult because he was well established and respected at the NYPD, sacrificing 13 years toward a lucrative NYPD pension, tough moving away from their extended families. Being lifelong New Yorkers and moving to the deep south isn’t easy for most people, but for them it was the right thing to do for the right reasons, he says.

The factors at play for them centered around wanting a new environment in which to rear their kids, now 10, 7 and 3. It also was about the cost of living and financial struggles, and the very real negatives about being an NYPD cop in our turbulent times, and tiring of the constant abuse, anti-cop degrading comments and lawsuits from the public.

Here are Morgan’s words about all of this:

“We could have stuck it out, but everything there is so expensive. I was doing my NYPD job and had to get a second job in 2021 and 2022 and my wife was an elementary school special ed teacher. We hardly saw one another and we were going broke. Barely able to pay our bills. Plus, we decided we didn’t want to raise the children there and if we don’t leave now, we’re never leaving.” They left.

He spent his 13-year career at the 75th Precinct and was highly respected. He was honored 11 times for his work, including the NYPD’s second highest honor in 2021 – the Police Combat Cross. In 2017 he was named the precinct’s “Cop of the Year” and the New York State Senate “Cop of the Year.” And the 75th Precinct is known for its violent crime rate that is significantly higher than New York City as a whole and the rest of the country. The area has been referred to as New York’s “killing field” due to its high number of shootings and murders.

At the 75th, he spent three years a detective, 8-½ years in the Anti-Crime Unit as a plainclothes patrolman “looking for gang bangers, making felony arrests and focusing on drugs and weapons seizures and the remaining time on patrol.”

Even with the honors, the work as a NYPD cop wore him down. “We were not respected. The department’s reputation was always dragged through the mud and the media. It was not fun to be constantly belittled, degraded and sued (he was sued several times). We were always fighting policies and it got to the point that I and many others wanted a more respectable way of life in our jobs. Everything became so negative after defund the police came along and the incidents in New York, St. Louis and then Minneapolis.”

Morgan is a native of Smithtown, New York, on Long Island and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2008 from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, where he played intercollegiate lacrosse. He also has an associate degree from Suffolk Community College.

What led Morgan into the business of law enforcement? “I was raised with a good moral foundation. My Dad taught me to protect and respect others, to help others who can’t help themselves and I also absolutely do not like bullies,” he said. “I considered the military but I thought I could help my community and people by being at the NYPD.”

July 2025 will mark two years at KPD. Since joining he has won these awards:

On March 26, he and three other officers will receive the Meritorious Service Medal. “This is among the highest commendations presented by the KPD and is given as a result of heroic actions.

He is receiving that award for the response to a single-car crash and vehicle fire that happened on December 13, 2024, on Hall of Fame Drive near I-40 West,” said KPD Communications Director Scott Erland.

“At great personal risk, the four officers attempted to free the driver from the burning car, but it quickly became engulfed in flames and the driver died at the scene. Despite that tragic outcome, the actions of the officers who responded to that scene were nothing short of heroic.”

He has been honored as Officer of the Month twice in 2024. Morgan and two other officers were singled out for their efforts to quickly locate and arrest a suspect from a double murder that occurred near downtown Knoxville in May 2024.

Kevin received it again for the arrest of wanted fugitive Patrick Hostetter in December 2024. At the time of his arrest, Hostetter had five outstanding warrants, including drug and weapon charges. He was also wanted out of Texas at the time of his arrest.

To say he’s enjoying his work at KPD does not do it justice. He’s found a new professional home and his family is thriving here.

“I enjoy having a fresh start at a new department that preaches professionalism and is doing its best to support its officers in what are tough and challenging times in law enforcement,” he said. “It is so refreshing to work every day without being surrounded by negativity and to be with a department with a fresh approach and a new perspective on policing.”

How does he describe himself? “I’m a quiet professional. I’m not a hero, but I’m not a zero either.”

Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.

Our Town Hero is sponsored by Aubrey’s Restaurants.