First Responders Month: Jason Morgan’s journey from small-town officer to SEMO DPS leadership

Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety assistant director and captain of police operations Jason Morgan has stayed close to home for his career.

A 1999 graduate of Chaffee High School and a native of the town, Morgan attended SEMO for his undergraduate degree in criminal justice. After receiving his degree, he went through the police academy at SEMO before taking his first job at Chaffee Police Department in 2005.

“I really enjoyed it,” Morgan said of his time with Chaffee PD. “The only downside to it was, it was my hometown, so it's really hard to police the people you know and you've grown up with, and if you're from Chaffee, you know everybody.”

Morgan said the idea of being a police officer had always intrigued him due to his desire to help others and belong to such a “noble profession". He took the steps to become involved in law enforcement, in part, due to the death of his close friend, Joda Griggs, who was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver at 16. Following Griggs’ death, Morgan became close with his father, Joda Griggs Sr., also known as “Big Joe”.

“Obviously, I was his son's friend. I was around the same age, so I spent a lot of time with him,” Morgan said. “He came to all my football games, basketball games, and I was really close with him. He had talked about being a police officer, what it was, what it meant and the whole term ‘noble profession,’ that’s kind of where that came from. He showed me why it was noble and how it could be noble. So he was a big influence on why I chose to do this.”

Morgan was also heavily influenced by the late Chaffee police chief Jim Chambers, whom he worked directly with after leaving Chaffee PD and working for the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.

“I've known him since I was a kid,” Morgan said. “In fact, I went to work in the jail at Scott County, and he was the jail administrator. He was a big influence and kind of got me into it. … He kind of, again, told me what it meant to be an officer, what it meant to truly serve and what it meant to really help and protect people.”

After leaving Scott County, Morgan took a position with SEMO DPS and is currently in his 13th year with the department. Morgan began his tenure at SEMO as a patrolman and has worked his way through the ranks over the years.

One of the major differences between policing in Chaffee or in Scott County compared to DPS is the age difference of the populations, according to Morgan. While employed by Chaffee PD, Morgan said one of the things he enjoyed most was working with the youth and being a positive influence for them, which is something he’s carried with him to DPS.

“I thought, maybe, coming up here, I'd have a similar opportunity to do that. Be a positive role model for young adults and maybe give them some guidance,” Morgan said. “After working here for about six months, I realized, ‘Yeah, this is where I want to be.’”

Morgan enjoys the “community policing” aspect of working at DPS, where his job isn’t completely related to stopping crime. He explained that the university wants its officers on campus, providing a sense of community between DPS and the students and keeping them safe. As captain, Morgan said he’s attempted to bring in more officers with a similar mindset to his.

“What I find is I'm bringing in officers with the same mindset that I had where, maybe, your goal isn't to arrest people and put them in jail all the time. Maybe your goal is to teach a young adult how to change a flat tire, or maybe jump a car or just give them directions,” Morgan said. “Maybe that's something you enjoy more in your career, because there are different aspects of policing, just like any other profession.”

While his goal isn’t necessarily to make arrests, his department does do so. Particularly, DPS is looking for people from off-campus who come onto the campus with the specific intent of committing a crime. However, when a student breaks a law, particularly in the event of something minor like backing into a light pole and leaving the scene without knowing it’s a crime to do so, DPS can cite them to the Office of Student Conduct where they can be disciplined through the university and not have that on their record.

Outside of the office, Morgan is married with two children, who both attend school in Chaffee. A former athlete in his own right, Morgan said a lot of his time off the clock is spent transporting his children to and from travel baseball games and other sporting events.

“Me and both of my boys spend a lot of time practicing baseball, working out together and playing football together,” Morgan said. “That's really fun for us. I enjoy working out, and my son, he's 13, is getting into it now. I've got another one, he's 7, and he’s just now getting into T-ball, so I'm hitting the rewind button all over again.”

Another hobby of Morgan’s is landscaping and yard work, which he said helps him take his mind off the job.

“I think just being outdoors in the fresh air, it's meditative,” Morgan said. “Even now, being in my office for eight hours a day, being surrounded by four walls and behind a computer, you almost want to connect with nature a little bit. And it's fulfilling because you put the work in, and then you get to see the plant grow, mature and, really, just be beautiful. It's like, ‘I did that.’”

While Morgan takes his job seriously, he emphasizes the importance of police officers having healthy hobbies outside of work that help them relax and occupy their minds because the job can be “all-consuming.”

“You're always going to have those weeks and those time periods where you feel like if something bad happened that week anywhere in my zone, I was the officer responding, and that's just how it works sometimes. Don't let that get to you. Don't let that control you or consume you. Find something you love, whether it's to spend time with your family or a hobby, whatever it is, find that and you'll probably have a lot longer and more successful career in this field.”