Eugene L. Coon (November 15, 1928 – October 15, 1998) was a long-time

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

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(serving

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and its immediate suburbs) and an influential figure in the local Democratic Party. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in 1947–1948 and in 1950 for the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

until 1952.

Early life

Coon graduated from Perry High School in

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, in 1947. He attended

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, studying prelaw.

Army service

Coon served in the

in 1947–1948, then re-enlisted in 1950 for the

, where he was a combat infantryman in the 1st Cavalry Division, serving until 1952.

Law enforcement career

Coon began his career as an officer for the Pittsburgh Police in 1952, and rose through the ranks to assistant superintendent. Coon was elected Sheriff in 1969, succeeding the retiring William Davis. He was once called "America's Toughest Cop" by a men's magazine. While he was head of the Pittsburgh homicide squad, the unit solved 57 homicides in a row. He resigned from the Pittsburgh Police in 1969 to run as a Democrat for

, a position he would hold through seven subsequent elections, ending his career in 1997. He became chair of the Allegheny County Democratic party in the early 1970s. He also ran unsuccessfully for Allegheny County Commissioner and Pittsburgh Mayor. Coon gained national recognition on January 3, 1983 when he refused to place homes of unemployed steel workers up for public sale following foreclosure proceedings. He was named to the Pennsylvania Police Hall of Fame on January 27, 1990 and served as a bagpiper in many a St. Patrick's Day parade. He died in his South Side home on Oct. 21, 1998, at age 68.

FBI files

It was revealed in 2011 by

WTAE-TV WTAE-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by Hearst Television since the station's inception, making this one of two stations that have been built and signe ...

in Pittsburgh that the FBI had kept extensive files on Sheriff Coon beginning in the early to mid-1970s and suspected him of "protecting" and "enforcing" for the Pittsburgh Mob, most notably Tony Grosso's organization. No charges or public investigation were ever pursued, however the files connect Coon with the same organization that Federal investigators suspected in the death of

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for Pittsburgh Robert Duggan in early 1974. Then-

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, and later

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chose to close the cases and the investigation by 1975.

Accident

In 1988 Sheriff Coon was involved as a pedestrian in an accident with a car, losing one of his legs because of injuries he had suffered.

Rifle shots at party

While in his last term as Sheriff on November 6, 1994, Coon was disturbed at his suburban Donegal second home by a party target shooting next door while he was taking a nap.

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police, state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both ...

responded after Coon had attempted to have his neighbor quiet the party and exhausted in failing that, fired rifle shots to quiet the party crowd.

References

External links

1981 election coverage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coon, Eugene 1928 births 1998 deaths University of Pittsburgh alumni People from Pittsburgh Allegheny County Sheriff United States Army personnel of the Korean War Pennsylvania Democrats Place of death missing