MovieChat Forums > Cops (1989) Discussion > Joe Morgan died in September.

Joe Morgan died in September.


Just saw on the internet that Des Moines officer Joe Morgan died in September at the young age of 54. I always liked his calm demeanor and weird sense of humor. His death seemed very sudden. May he R.I.P.

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Very sad to hear about the passing of Joe Morgan, I always liked him a lot and agreed he did have a good sense of humor and a calm demeanor, he was a fun officer to watch, my thoughts and prayers will go out to his family and those close to him.

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His obituary mentioned his level-headedness and sense of humor.

His funeral was streamed on the internet. The one officer recalled a story in which Morgan knew he was going to be on TV but was also on duty at the same time. He resolved a dispute quickly and within minutes, was at his house with his family watching his appearance on COPS.

I was very shocked when I heard he passed.

I'm not sure how many cops featured on the show have since passed. I've heard of a few others besides Morgan.

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I know Donta Miller from Palm Beach County, FL (Season 11 where he dealt with a man stalking his ex-girlfriend along with him following her from New Jersey) got killed in November 2007 and Officer Shaun Diamond from Pomona, California (lead officer off of a Season 20 episode where he was pursuing a parolee at large in a stolen van that crashed into a taxi) got killed on duty back in October 2014

That was very interesting how Officer Morgan was able to resolve a dispute quickly and was at his house with his family watching his appearance on COPS, I sometimes wonder what consequences Officer Morgan had to suffer when he'd gotten his car stuck on the railroad tracks while pursuing a motorcyclist, he was definitely one of my favorite officers due to his calm demeanor and his sense of humor.

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Here's a few officers who are deceased who appeared on COPS:

Mike Hoffman:Broward Co, season 1.

Walter "Kent" Mundell, Pierce County, season 17.

Craig Mendenhall, Portland, season 16.

Bob French, Sacramento, seasons 23 & 24.

Keith Gray, Fresno, season 9.

Rick Lee, Brevard County, season 20.

Lance Whitaker, Jacksonville season 16.

That stuck on the tracks segment was a classic, and Joe handled it with class. I liked that he showed his lunch on the dashcam at the beginning of the segment. Just seemed like a real nice guy.

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I really liked Mike Hoffman and Keith Gray a lot, those two were nice, fun police officers, I've totally forgotten all about them showing Morgan's lunch on the dashcam at the beginning of the segment, I agree Joe did handle it very well, it was easy to feel sorry for him with the predicament he was in, I also thought the other officers were humorous about what happened, I also liked how he handled the situation with a little boy that was missing.

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Morgan's backup officers handled the situation very well and also liked their sense of humor.

I liked how Morgan treated the little boy. Didn't get mad at him or scare him. Loved that he got the sticker at the end. Hope the boy is doing better now as an adult.

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I was really happy with how lighthearted and humorous Morgan was while dealing with the little boy, I feel police officers would be more respected if they were all like Morgan, I thought it was cool he gave the little boy a sticker at the end, I also hope he's doing better as an adult.

I thought it was funny seeing how Morgan's fellow officers and one of the superior officers acted towards him getting his car stuck on the railroad tracks, wasn't Morgan about to be evaluated for something?

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I can't remember if he was about to be evaluated for something.

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Another officer who was passed away is Eddie Brown who was one of the Narcotics officers from Pittsburgh (he appeared in several Pittsburgh episodes from Season 4), Eddie Brown died from a car accident at 70 years old, I remember he was a tough, no nonsense officer but did have a sense of humor.

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Shawn McDonald of Pierce County, Seasons 4 and 5 sadly passed away in 2010 at 50 years old, I remember liking him a lot when I first watched COPS back in 1992

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Officer Joe Waltman of Pomona, California (Seasons 5 and 7) recently passed away a couple months ago at 62 years of age, I always liked watching the segments he appeared in, he did seem good humored and knew how to talk to those out in public.

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I remember the segment where there was a knife at the convenience store in which the suspect and Waltman both were tased. I remember him talking about being a New Yorker. He definitely looked different in his later years too. He seemed to enjoy his grandchildren too. May he R.I.P.

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The segment with Waltman dealing with a suspect at a convenience store was a classic episode, the way the suspect was running was a classic and I remember they dealt with him a few other times in the recent months and were surprised he wasn't being put away in prison, it originally came out in 1993 and got rereleased in 2002 I believe, that is really cool Waltman seemed to enjoy his grandchildren, I liked Waltman and thought he was a good natured cop

I find it very interesting that Joe Waltman was born on the same exact day as Officer Shawn McDonald who appeared on the Pierce County episodes of Season 4-5, sadly McDonald died in 2010.

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I noticed the show tended to reuse old segments in themed episodes in seasons 15 and 16.

I also noticed Waltman moved back closer to home after his retirement.

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Kim Hardack from Indianapolis who posed as an undercover prostitute on Season 12, episode 3 was sadly killed by her ex-husband in 2014, she lived to be 45, her ex-husband later committed suicide.

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I heard about this. Very sad. I guess her kids filed a lawsuit against the police department as her ex was an officer and they did nothing to him in previous domestic calls.

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I didn't know about this until this past weekend, I was really saddened by it although I'm not the biggest fan of the prostitution sting episodes, that is horrible they did nothing to him in previous domestic calls, her ex husband really lost it if he had to stoop low to murdering her.

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Meh, entrapping American citizens with a victimless crime is reprehensible.

Sorry this cop was murdered by her husband, but she made some poor life decisions all around, from deceiving and arresting innocent men to marrying a creep.

Frankly there are good people's deaths which I feel sad about.

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Jeff Zappala (Cleveland, OH Season 6) sadly died of a self inflicted gunshot wound in 2000.

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Sadly Officer Dale La Fleur (Los Angeles, Season 7) passed away in November of 2018, he lived to be 76 years old, I always liked him and his lighthearted personality.

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Paul Mertz, one of the officers who dealt with the teen who had inhalant problems and had a breakdown and fight with police in one of the 1999 season 12 Fort Worth episodes, died in June 2019 at the age of 67. He was very calm despite being stern with the girl. Hopefully she cleaned up and stopped using inhalants.

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That is very sad to hear about Paul Mertz passing, I really liked him a lot, while he was stern he at least remained calm and professional while dealing with the girl who had inhalant problems, I also liked the officers didn't show aggression towards her despite her biting the other officer, I wonder if he appeared in any more segments.

I also hope she stopped using inhalants and is doing well, I read somewhere on an old video from YouTube that she has turned her life around and became a drug educationer throughout all the public schools, that video later got deleted.

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What was that video about and how did you know it was her? Did it show a clip of her segment?

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It was a segment she appeared it that was on YouTube a few years ago, it sadly got deleted, someone mentioned they knew who she was.

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Officer Loren Caddy of Portland, Oregon (Season 2) recently passed away, he lived to be 90 years of age, he was always polite, professional, humbled and never showed any signs of arrogance while dealing with the criminals, he was always one of my favorite officers in the series.

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I was wondering about him as he looked a bit old back in 1989. I think he was about 55 in those segments. I miss the days when you saw older officers as compared to later seasons where they are mainly young and fresh on departments. I saw a post a few years back that he was in his 80's. He seemed to be very cool with every suspect, like the shirtless drunk in the jail. May he R.I.P.

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It wasn't very often you've gotten to see an officer past middle aged in the segments, I remember Mark Myler (Indianapolis, Seasons 6 and 12) and Frank Geghan (Little Rock, Season 6) looked like they were in their 50's, I thought he showed a great amount of respect and restraint towards the shirtless drunk in the jail, most officers would be jerks right back to this suspect, while I'm sad that Officer Caddy is no longer with us I'm glad he managed to live a long life, I once saw a video where many officers' lives are 20 years shorter than the average person's life.

I agree most of the officers in the later seasons are young and appear to be fresh on the departments.

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JR Jacoby of Fort Worth (Seasons 5 and 8) sadly passed away in January 2020, he lived to be 65 years old, I'm not certain what he died of, I always liked JR Jacoby a lot, he was always good humored and calm while dealing with the public.

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