I Spent 29 Years as a New York Court Officer — This Is What The Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Was Like | Brian Burke
August 31, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readBrian Burke spent 29 years as a New York court officer after four years as a state correction officer. He was assigned to the arraignment of Rex Heuermann, the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, and interacted with him extensively over the course of the case. This conversation covers what Burke learned about people through decades inside the system, from the shoe at Fishkill to the felony courts of the Bronx and Suffolk County, and what Heuermann was like up close.
The Correction Officer Foundation
Burke started in New York State Corrections in 1993, assigned to Arthur Kill on Staten Island, then transferred to Fishkill. He worked the "shoe" — the segregated housing unit — where inmates in disciplinary or protective custody were held one per cell. That experience taught him that most of what looks like defiance is actually mental illness. He watched a man come in for a 30-day sentence and end up spending two years because he kept fighting with officers and spitting on other inmates. "You can't have no self-control whatsoever," Burke said. "It unfortunately is mental illness."
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of Locked In with Ian Bick
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Advertisements** - Several advertisements play for short codes, PenFed, OnDeck, and California Closets.
- 2 (01:15) **The Gilgo Beach Arraignment Opener** - Brian Burke describes the moment he arraigned Rex Heuermann on four murder charges.
- 3 (01:34) **Brian Burke's Background & Path to Corrections** - Burke explains his childhood in the Bronx and Orange County, and how he drifted into law enforcement.
- 4 (05:56) **Corrections Academy & First Posting at Arthur Kill** - Burke describes the shock of his first prison posting and the brutal commute.
- 5 (11:41) **Working the "Shoe" (Segregation) at Fishkill** - Burke details his experience in the segregation unit, which taught him how to handle people.
- 6 (21:28) **The Respect Principle** - Burke explains the core philosophy he learned from an inmate about earning respect, not demanding it.
- 7 (27:34) **Transition to Court Officer & the Fen-Phen Diet** - Burke describes the difficulty of meeting the height-weight requirement to become a court officer.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Brian Burke got into corrections in his early twenties, spent four years working inside the New York state prison system, and then spent twenty-nine years as a New York court officer — experiencing the full spectrum of what the American justice system looks like from the person responsible for maintaining order in the room where it all happens. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, he shares what four years in the New York state prison system taught him, what twenty-nine years as a court officer — the juries, the defendants, the prosecutors, the judges, and the heartbreaking and strangest moments the job produced — really looked like from the inside, and what his most significant professional experience actually involved: personally escorting Rex Heuermann — the Gilgo Beach serial killer — throughout his arrest, conviction, and sentencing, and what that specific proximity to one of the most disturbing criminal cases in recent New York history actually revealed about the person at the center of it.
_____________________________________________
#officer #truecrimestories #court #newyork
_____________________________________________
Thank you to CASH APP for sponsoring this episode:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/6pao71et #CashAppPod
Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Cash App Green features, Savings, Direct deposit, Round ups, Overdraft coverage and Discounts provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.
_____________________________________________
Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
_____________________________________________
Timestamps:
00:00 Arraignment Shock 00:19 Growing Up in the Bronx 01:28 Childhood and Early Career 02:53 Choosing Law Enforcement 04:48 Starting in Corrections 06:39 First Prison Assignment 09:14 First Prison Experience 10:27 Transfer to Fishkill 11:34 Life at Fishkill 13:05 Working the Shoe 15:50 Shoe Conditions 16:42 Protective Custody 17:45 Perspective from Solitary 18:49 Corrections Experience Helps 20:40 Respect from Other Officers 21:37 Career Plans in Corrections 23:56 Types of Crimes at Fishkill 25:00 Advice from Veteran Officers 25:43 Prison Food and Cooking 28:00 Sponsor: Cash App Green 30:12 Becoming a Court Officer 31:51 Pay and Academy Differences 32:58 Court Off
More from this podcast
Locked In with Ian Bick →