TSU OFFICER HAD BEEN IN TROUBLE WITH SCHOOL, RECORDS SHOW

His Police Powers Were Stripped Months Before Drug Arrest

A campus police officer at Tennessee State University who was
arrested this week had been in trouble twice in the past nine months
and was stripped of his police powers after making a threat in
September, university records show.

According to university personnel records, officer Tracy Lamont
Morgan, 38, who is charged with selling cocaine, threatened in
September to "go postal" and shoot someone when he got angry about
filling out paperwork.

Morgan, of Rothwood Apartments in Madison, was placed on leave
several days after making the statements, according to public records
obtained from Tennessee State University.

He was also involved in another incident in March with another TSU
officer, although details of that incident were not released.

The TSU personnel records provided to The Tennessean were incomplete
and contained no details of either incident.

But in response to continuing inquiries by the newspaper about the
September incident, a university spokeswoman found two additional
memos that were not included in Morgan's personnel jacket that
offered a glimpse into the reasons for his suspension.

She was unable this week to immediately locate records detailing the
March incident. A TSU police lieutenant who was provided with a memo
about the incident said yesterday he could not recall the
circumstances.

A message left with TSU Police Chief Carlton Bowen at his office was
not returned.

Officer Allen Tatum, who is named in university records as somehow
being involved in the March incident with Morgan, declined to comment
last night.

"I'm not at liberty to go through that," Tatum said when reached by
telephone at TSU police headquarters.

In a written statement to supervisors about the September incident,
Morgan appeared to defend his statement about going "postal" by
saying he only jokingly mentioned to another officer he was concerned
about paperwork he filled out reflecting that campus buildings are
secure.

Morgan told another officer that "there (are) always people hiding in
a building and you can't put down the building is secured if someone
is in the building," Morgan's statement says.

"And in a joking way, I said if they keep trying to change stuff,
someone is going to go postal or shoot someone and walked off,"
Morgan's statement says.

TSU police officials placed Morgan on administrative leave Sept. 22.
His gun and badge were confiscated, and TSU Assistant Chief Sylvia
Russell ordered Morgan to see a doctor for a "medical
evaluation."

TSU officials took Morgan's statement seriously, according to
university records. "You were advised by me, due to the fact you are
an armed police officer - threats made about shooting someone are to
be taken seriously," reads a statement from Morgan's supervisor, Lt.
Phillip Beene.

Before working at TSU, Morgan had an extensive history in the U.S.
Navy. From 1987-1996, he worked security aboard the USS Constellation
in San Diego and the USS Yellowstone in Norfolk, Va., and as a base
police officer in Kingsville, Texas.

In 1995, he briefly worked on "shipboard security engagement tactics"
for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Criminal
Investigative Service, according to his resume on file with TSU.

He also has served in the U.S. Naval Reserve in Nashville and is a
Whites Creek High graduate, his resume states.

His recent trouble with Metro police came during an undercover
operation.

Morgan was booked on three counts of selling cocaine, misdemeanor
marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on
a suspended license. He is free on $27,000 bail and is scheduled to
attend court in January.

Metro police said two of the cocaine sales to undercover officers
happened Nov. 10 and Nov. 15 on the streets of the Bordeaux area. A
third sale was Nov. 16 at Morgan's Madison apartment, police said.

The investigation began after a citizen's tip. Police said there is
no evidence that the campus officer was selling drugs on or near the
TSU campus.

Officers executed a search warrant at Morgan's apartment Monday night
and found paraphernalia, including a hydraulic press, electronic
scales and plastic bags, police said. The press tested positive for
cocaine residue, and there also was a small amount of marijuana,
police said.