Retired NYPD Police Officer interview-Mike Codella 

I (retired in 1999) worked with Mike. Great guy. Lots of fun.

Gotta get Mike back on. Such an amazing episode. So humble, honest, real, raw. We want more!

The retired cops always have the best stories. Would love to see more of Mike.

I retired in 2021 as a NYPD officer in special operation division. This guy is legit. He is humble and did not embellished. Seeing what I saw was quite unique. I responded to every major incident that happen in NYC from Cops killed in the line of duty, cops shooting a Perp, terrorist attacks, mass shooting, missing children, elderly, mentally I’ll people. It takes a toll on you. What I saw and did in 21 years most cops would work 100 years and never see it.

As a retired NYC Firefighter ,who has seen more than one should see, I see you. You were a very good Cop! I appreciate your service and wish you the very best going forward. Thank You fro your Service to my City !!!

I could listen to Mike for hours. Please bring him back

There needs to be a part two with Mike. Also let’s hear more cop stories please

His stories about growing up in NYC are absolutely on point. I grew up in Queens, in the 70's and early 80's. It was exactly as he said.

Love hearing these stories from former NYC cops. They were brave gentlemen. Thank you for sharing this video

Imagine all the stories this guy has that he hasn't told us.. Thank for sharing Mike

When you're looking for excitement, most of the time you find trouble. Those were my dads words to me before I left to join the army in 1975. I am so glad I listened to him. Great interview sir.....

My dad is a retired detective, but was a patrol officer for years before. He always says that 90% of crime is committed by 10% of people. Seems to be true on every front. This was a fantastic episode. One of my favorites thus far! I would love to hear more of his stories!

Thank you Mark and your team for the opportunity. Stay Safe!

I really appreciate this man's testimony regarding mob behavior.. So many will tell stories of a sort of nobility and code of ethics in the mob, glorifying being a part of it. This man tells us about the true character of these psychopaths and that mobsters are NOT people to be looked up to, or put on a pedestal to be admired in any way.

I worked in San diego County jail for 18 years. Just to pay my child support. I hated it, I was infantry marine so I wasn't soft. Exactly 18 years I imploded. Quit, rock bottom drinking and drugs and hookers and then jail for me. Took 4 years in and out of AA failing. I had to forgive the people that hurt me, and help others. Sounds easy, hardest thing I've ever done. Now poor, but no girls, not much money, but gratitude for once in my life! Peace and God bless you all.

Superb interview. 80s in NY was no joke at all, and he was right in the thick of it

I was born and raised in those projects and lived in 178 Ave. D also known as the Jacob Riis projects. What he was talking about is very true, and I remember as a child coming home and stepping over people because they were overdosed in the elevator. I subsequently joined EMS and worked for the fire department as a medic for 10 years.

Amazing stories, would love to hear more from Mike. Thank you

I think that’s one of the best interviews you’ve done. This policeman absolutely had an angel watching over him. Bless him.

My Uncle is a retired Captain of the NYPD. He’s seen things and experienced things that are unimaginable! 🥹 Huge respect for the NYPD 💙💙💙 (He also happens to be my hero! ♥️🫶☀️)

There's so much online nowadays showing bad cops so it's a welcome change to hear this good cop talk about his experiences. What a good man! All the best to Mike Codella! Thanks, Mark.

15:36 "... a lot of people in the projects were good people ..." Believe it or not that is 100% factually true.

I could listen to your stories all day!!

This guy seems like the real deal. A guy who really wanted to protect and serve.

As somebody with police in the family and who is disgusted by stories of police corruption and abuse, thank you for representing the good, decent men and women of law enforcement I’ve been acquainted with.

You should write a book. His stories keep the listener entranced. Mike, thank you for being a good cop. It seems hard to find the good cops these days. I'm grateful God spared your life again and again. You risked you life to better the community. What a tremendous sacrifice. Thank you for your service, Sir

How refreshing. A cop with a heart that isn’t corrupt.

Was a rookie officer in the Fighting 9th Precinct in the late 80's. Crack was the major problem although Alphabet City offered heroin, weed. and PCP. Definitely was an "A" house (dangerous). The 9th precinct officers were the greatest. If you could work there, you could work anywhere. It was the start of an incredible career thanks to the many officers that trained me. Retired in 2008 but the Fighting 9th will always be in my heart.

Mike, you are a great story teller. Thank Mark for sharing this interview with us.

You have to interview more cops especially these guys from the 80’s

Most honest and human hearted cop I’ve heard on this show yet. No corruption sensed at all

I was just commenting on another NYPD episode and they’re all great. A crazy era they worked in and have so many stories. All great story tellers with the same type of personalities which are tremendous! Very old school NYers. Keep these coming!

This is a stalwart and genuinely badass man w personal and professional integrity to be admired. Love this guy!

Please do more NYPD police officer interviews. This guy is top notch!! Thank you for sharing your story!!

Thank you for showcasing people with purpose and who have made meaningful difference in their life. Please showcase more people like this. The views might be lower but there are many women and men who go beyond their traumas and do well in life.

I had no.idea, we were going there. The TRUTH is written on his face. Front and center.

Awesome episode here,being a retired NYPD cop myself it's still great to hear how many different stories we have as cops. We all have different crazy stories from patrol and also working during 9-11. God bless the men and woman on the force now.

This guy is straight out of a movie. The looks, the accent, the stories. I'd love to meet him at a party and hear more stories.

What an intense career. Thanks for the story! I love your channel.

PLEASE give us a follow up interview for Mike!! His life and stories are bombshells! I would love to know where he was during September 11, and more case stories over his career. 👌

99% of us don't know what these guys go through and do for us. Please spread this video as we all need to know! God bless these officers.

These police officer interviews are so powerful and important, thank you everyone involved! 🙏🏾❤️

Love these NYPD Officer stories! Please keep interviewing these folks. Thank you.

Thanks for your service, Mike. I lived in NYC for 10 years. NYC cops are great people. Love these stories!

I love how he’s just being honest. Great interview as always. 💕

Born & raised in Brooklyn, still live here and am so familiar with everything he is saying.

Damn. That was one excellent interview. Could listen to Mike speak and tell stories for a few more hours. What a humble man too.

@ Mike, thank you for your service. I grew up in Harlem and in the New York City housing projects and you are absolutely right the drug dealers kept us hostage in those buildings just to let the customers come rolling in. A lot of them didn’t bother us so that we wouldn’t call the cops but they never helped any of us and they scared the shit out of us. I go back to NYC to see family and a new generation much harder and scarier kids scare me more than the dudes that usually just let you pass without trying to mess with people

Wow! I can't imagine anyone wanting to be a police officer, especially in large cities. The story about the dead baby shook me. Talk about PTSD. It's so sad and disturbing what some children go through. Breaks my heart.

You do an amazing thing getting these awesome and amazing peoples stories out. We appreciate you Mark

Here for the accent, the story, everything!

More interviews like this one please. Thanks for the video.

Great stuff, keep up the amazing interviews!

A good childhood friend from Ohio went to NYC to be a cop in 1991. A couple years ago he retired from New York City Police Force and moved to Florida still a young man. He just took his own life last year. Was always a happy guy but whatever he saw as a NYC cop changed him

Mike is a great guy with an incredible story

I GREW UP IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE AKA ALPHABET CITY. I STARTED IN BARUCH HOUSING ON COLUMBIA STREET THEN MOVED TO CALIFORNIA FOR A YEAR. I WAS HOMLESS IN CALIFORNIA FOR A WHILE BEFORE THIS FAMILY TOOK ME IN. AFTER THAT YEAR I CAME BACK TO MY OLD HOOD IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE. THE BUS RIDE FROM CALIFORNIA WAS 3 Days AND I MUST HAVE BEEN AROUND 15 years OLD THEN. I ACTUALLY CONSIDERED COMING ON THIS SHOW TO TELL MY STORY. Anyway I moved to 2nd street between ave A and Ave B. Back then the drugs were way out of hand and we had many people some rich coming from Jersey to buy drugs on my Block. MOST OF THE WHITE PEOPLE WERE FROM THERE. I spoke to a guy I made friends with on the street and told him I needed work to survive. I had very little education and didn’t know how to write and getting a legitimate job would have been very difficult in so many ways. Transportation etc. Anyway he spoke to his boss the drug dealer and they gave me a job . My job was to stand on the corner and look out for police. He offered me $200 a day to do this plus a 30 minute break and they paid for my lunch meal at the Cuban chinese restaurant on the corner of ave B and 2nd street. Job was not that difficult and before you know it I had nice clothes a bunch of jewelry I used to buy from the junkies that came to sell it to get their next fix . You can buy anything on the streets those days. Jewelry , radios, camcorders which were very popular back then and anything else you can imagine. I even seen moms bring their daughters for sex so that they can get drugs. A lot of the buildings over there had rooms where you could go in and do your drugs indoors instead of the streets and they would provide the water and the stove etc.. moms used to go up there. I didn’t see that part happen but I know that’s what was going on. I was very young at the time but very street smart. Every drug spot had there own name. The drug spot I worked for was called MAD. They were the only ones allowed to sell dope on that block. There was another drug dealer but they sold cocaine WHICH DIDNT CONFLICT with the Heroin spot . The two dealers had a mental understanding about there roles on that block but they were not overly cordial. They both had an understanding that they had to control their customers and not let them get out of hand or cause too much problems that will cause the police to come in and delay sales. I became friends with the cocían dealers also. The guy who ran that operation was named Franco. He had two Brothers that would help him work things and help intimidate others that might try to move in. They drove a black Jeep and everyone knew who they were. I used to do the night shift with him. He had me stand in front of the building not on the corner, like the dope spot and direct human traffic. I used to tell the drug addicts when they could go in the building to cop and when they had to wait for clearance. They were very disciplined because they knew if I had to raise my voice they could get the biggest beat down of their life. I wouldn’t be the one doing the beat down. Someone would come out the building and check them for me. Those guys over there didn’t play. The dope spot made much more money at ten dollars a bag. The coke spot $5 . The dope was sold out of an abandoned building with a back escape route that involved jumping down an 8 foot wall to evade cops when they rushed in. We used to know the cops by there name because they would eventually catch one of us and there names was on the report. There was a duo Danny and I forgot the chubby ones name or if he was Danny and the other person was the name i didn’t remember but they knew each of us when they came. We used to yell bahando (spanish which means coming) when they were approaching block in their unmarked cars but when it was danny and the other guy we would yell the name Bahando!! tThen Danny . Because we knew he knew who we were. Most marked cars would just drive through as if they were on there way somewhere else . But these guys were super active. We didn’t hate those cops .They always treated us fairly when they caught us. Many times they woukd catch us and let us go because they couldn’t find the drugs on us. Usually we hid them under a parked car on top of the back tire or in a bag in a garbage bag if we sold outside the hole but usually it’s in what we called the hole ( in the abandoned building). The entrance was an actual hole in the building. Missing bricks. Unlike the coke spot down the block where it was in an actual building where tenants lived. The people who lived on that block were not afraid of those drug dealers. They were nothing like the young drug dealers today. The person who ran them were adults and they did not tolerate any of the drug dealers harassing tenants. If they needed to use one of the apartments to hold their drugs temporarily for the day or long term, they would pay the tenants well to use their apartment. You can get $500 for the day. If long term probably less per day but higher volume so much more money overall. These guys were making thousands and they were very generous. Since the younger dealers were supervised by the older ones you did not have petty nonsense going on. There was one grocery store on the block owned by a very old man and if he came out to complain about the drug addicts hanging out in front of his store waiting to cop, the dealers would apologize and tell the addicts to take a walk until they are allowed to buy. Sometimes there will be an arrest going on down the block that had nothing to do with the drugs on my block but we had to wait until that incident was over before we can send addicts back in the hole to buy again.. on occasion I woukd be without a shift on my block and woukd have to go to a different block to pick up some money. One time I went to 3rd street between A and B . That block was the next block parallel to the one I worked at mainly. In that one the Drug Dealer Gordo wanted me inside the building which was more riskier for the same pay. There I had to man the entrance door. I would let the tenants in and the drug buyers when they came to the door. Before that day was over Danny and the other cop raided that place. They kicked the door and got in . The dealers that was on the 1st floor ran into one of the tenants apartment they had on the payroll and the cops could not just go into those apartments without a warrant so they were safe. I on the other hand had some drugs on my floor so I thought for sure I was going to be arrested. They held me while they searched in the area I was in . They opened a garbage that was near me and went through the contents one by one. Half way through they picked up a can of soda. The can was not open so they tossed it into another bag and kept looking. After some time they gave up let me go and went away. Thankfully i didn’t get arrested that day. The can of soda was really a safe. If you try to screw the top it would come off but they didn’t know that. Inside there was a bundle of dope. A bag of dope is $10 a bundle is ten bags which is a $1,000 worth. A Felony. Back then if you got arrested they would hold you for 3 days and release you with a court date and a court appointed attorney who sole purpose is to make his clients take a pleas deal. Depending on what your position was and how permanent you were your drug dealer will get you a lawyer. Since I was under 18 years of age and 1st offense you was kinda secure of getting out worse case with probation. The good thing about not getting arrested that day is that now I still had the get out of jail card for having a 1st offense which I could cash in later. Anyway I stopped working at that 3rd street spot and went back to 2nd street. I hung out with some shady characters back then and could have been killed some of the times I was with them. I’ve been in places where people just came in with guns and started shooting up the place and I ran out and survived. Other times my friends had beef with some kids and asked me to go with them to confront them . This one time that I did not go with them one of them got shot in the ass. He lived but I’m happy I did not go that day. I can go on for days about my life story but I will end it here. Maybe I will write a book one day if I can remember everything that happened. I went through a lot. Was placed in a foster home when I was 5 and came out when I was 9. Then things got worse. Anyway I survived 40 years later and not long ago I ran into that Gordo drug dealer in the street in the Bronx. Just ran into him in a grocery store. I also stayed in contact with a girlfriend I had back then when I was working for those dealers. She used to watch me from her fire scape when I did the night shift and her mom was sleeping. She’s a correction officer now in the courts on grand concourse. Anyway, have a good night. It’s 1am for me right now. ✌🏾

I love these police interviews, Mark, thanks for sharing

Hey Mike-Housing! Great to catch this.. I got on in ‘86 and worked up in PSA 6 during the crack epidemic. Got into HIDTA and saw a lot of the same stuff. Glad you made it out in one piece. Enjoy retirement.. you earned it.

Hes one cop in NY in a city with thousands of officers , just imagine all the stories each one has .the amount of madness and filth is mind boggling

I could listen to this guy for hours

Mark I’m really enjoying these police stories. Thanks for doing them.

I genuinely appreciate Mike for sharing his journey as a cop. The public does not hear what these brave men and women go through during their daily lives. I appreciate his service. :)

He is a great story teller and I was so captivated by this episode. The part about the NY elites and the rituals was very crazy to me - especially since NYPD didn’t want them to investigate further suddenly. Who’s to say that these “elites” aren’t paying organizations for silence?

Look forward to a part 2 and more retired NYPD Cop stories.

Thank you for letting this man tell his story

I had some interaction with NYPD Missing Persons (Morgue Squad) when I was a cop in a different department and they were aces. God bless, and enjoy your retirement, you’ve done God’s work!

would love more stories from him!!! great interview ❤️❤️

Great seeing you again Mike. Love your book. Highly recommend!

thank you for this, keep them coming please

My favorite interview so far. Great stories. Thanks for your service Mike!

Mark is the best interviewer ever. I've watched dozens of these stories...always gripping and make you think.

Great interview....thanks for the content and for these people for sharing their storied

I know this , I have the utmost respect for this guy. I wouldn’t want to piss this guy off for nothing. My uncle was a cook county cop , Chicago. They know how to take care of business

Mr Codella, Very interesting and amazing stories, I can tell you have a good heart putting your life on the line to make a difference, it seems work can be similar although totally different from a drug rush so many in that world crave, many people that work a job or several tend to get bored just like you transferring to find new opportunities and challenges, I can relate to your stories being close to the same age and I just wanted to say thank you for your service then and for today! The more we can learn about one another the better off this world will be because we need all the help we can get in this current day and age, I don't even have to go into that story I'm sure you can relate! take care my friend you're a stand-up man in a very good way and a true American! 🇺🇸✌️

I'm intrigued, I would like to hear more stories from him 🤗

Fascinating. Glad to see you survived, brother.

Thank you Mike for sharing your experience and thank you for your service.

I hope he comes bac!! Thank you for sharing

Great interview! Thanks Mike!!

Retired cop stories especially from the east coast are some of the best interviews lately here.

His demeanor is great. Very straightforward gentleman. And a cop that really did want to make a positive impact on his community and from what it sounds like he did. More of Mr. Codella!

Great interview! Loved it. And after all these stories... "Being a cop is stressful, isn't it?" nice summary!

Love this channel. Fabulous interview

A good portion of people are out for themselves. Best interview you have had. Bravo

One of my favorites so far mark. Thx

Thank you for the great interview

Great interview, thanks

So so so interesting to hear from these people with exceptional lives. Thank you sir and thank you, Mark ‼️

This was one of the best interviews. It was also great to see someone who wanted to do good and wanted to positively effect his environment as a policeman.

Edge of my seat whole time. Can’t make that bleep up. Hooked on the Police stories for sure! Home run on theses! You go! Love it! I think you asked 4 questions in 46 min. Amazing.

My daddy was an NYPD Detective Lieutenant Commander- retired after 36 years of dedicated service to the Clty of New York. My grandfather retired as an esteemed NYPD Lieutenant. Thank you sir and to all NYPD officers past and present for protecting our city! ❤🚔🚨👍🏾

Love to hear more stories from him. Thank you for sharing

Outstanding interview! I was there back then. He speaks the truth

Excellent Interview! 💯

Good guys like Mark makes NY the greatest. Thank you for your service and sharing your stories, looking sharp and fantastic for a retired gentleman 😊😊😊, nice!

Love these LEO interviews. Thank you for sharing their life with us. I am a LE enthusiast/retired military.

Appreciate Men with True Hearts ❤ shown up here, helping humanity through life played-back to see the changes needed to be made - TY

Eitan Patz was the first milk carton "Missing Child"

Appreciate you sharing your story Mike. Hope the rest of your life is blessed and peaceful. I retired with 31 years in 2018 and time slowly heals some of those tragic events. God bless you my brother. ~GW~

Thank you for such a truthful interview that we normally do not see from mainstreams. A lot of reflections and lession learned after watching them.