Residents may be used to seeing him in a very different capacity as owner of Morgan’s Service, but John Morgan can now also be seen in uniform tooling around town on a motorcycle as Clarkston’s newest reserve police officer, a volunteer position.
Morgan will have his “first big assignment,” Police Chief Ernest Combs said, this Friday, Aug. 1, escorting parading classic cars to Depot Park for SCAMP’s Councours in the Park.
It was when Clarkston Officer Alan Kitzens, a good friend of Morgan, encouraged Morgan to join the police academy, he did just that.
“He knew I had a motorcycle and said, ‘Why don’t you go to the academy?’” Morgan, 45, said, who has been riding motorcycles for the past couple of years as a hobby.
“My mother (Dora, who passed away 11 years ago) said as long as she was alive she didn’t want me riding (motorcycles) on the road. I wonder what she’s saying up there now.”
The Clarkston police department had only two motorcycle officers prior to Morgan, who along with the other two officers, had their newly leased motorcycles delivered last week. Morgan, as well as the other two motorcycle officers, pay for the lease of the bikes out of their pockets.
Born and raised in Clarkston and a 1975 Clarkston High School graduate, Morgan has worked at the service station since junior high school. Morgan’s has been a staple in Clarkston since 1932.
Morgan averages one night a week with the police department, working after he closes up shop at Morgan’s.
“I like what I do,” Morgan said of the repair shop. “Clarkston’s been good to us. There are a lot of good people in Clarkston.”
He admitted if he had not had the family business to go into after high school, he would’ve gone into law enforcement.
“Clarkston doesn’t have a full time officer. All the officers have a lot of experience. I think a lot of people look at Clarkston’s police department as a bunch of rent-a-cops and rookies, but that’s not the case. It is an excellent department. I feel honored to be associated with them.”
Morgan has been married to Connie for 25 years. They have four daughters: Stephanie, 22, Sarah, 20, Samantha, 15 and Miranda, 11.