A History of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office was founded in 1789 and remains the longest tenured law enforcement agency in the county. Soon after the United States and Great Britain ended the Revolutionary War, Sheriff James Morrison assumed office in January of 1789.

The current Sheriff, Kevin M. Kraus has served Allegheny County since 2014 as Chief Deputy and then was elected to office in January 2022 as Sheriff.

Prior to Kraus, William P. Mullen served Allegheny County since 2006 and was elected and re-elected in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017. Prior to his service at the county-level, Mullen spent thirty-seven years with the City of Pittsburgh Police. Mullen ended his time with the City of Pittsburgh as the Deputy Chief, second in command.

The Sheriff’s Office remains the most diverse office in the state, as Allegheny County Sheriff’s Deputies are the only deputies in the state with police powers. As of 2020, the office is organized into three branches: Civil, Courts, and Investigations. Additionally, Administration, Crime Prevention, K9 Unit, Police Academy and Reserves are directly overseen by the Chief Deputy John A. Kearney, like the three aforementioned branches. In total, the office employs 160+ Sheriff’s Deputies and 30+ civilians.

The Civil Division is divided into seven subdivisions (Civil ProcessEvidence, Firearms, Real Estate, Transportation, Warrants, and Writs) and is overseen by one commander, one lieutenant and three sergeants.

The Courts Division is divided into six subdivisions (Civil Court, Criminal Court, Family Court, Juvenile Court, Municipal Court, Orphans Court, and Prisoner Hospital Watch) and is overseen by one commander, two lieutenants, and eight sergeants.

The Investigations Division is divided into eight subdivisions (two criminal fugitive squads, non-support fugitive squad, crime prevention, K9 unit, uniformed deputies, housing warrants, and task forces) and is overseen by one commander, one lieutenant and three sergeants. The nine task force deputies are designated to the following agencies:

 Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF)
 Allegheny County District Attorney (DA)
 Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
 Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
 United States Marshals Service, Western District of PA (USMS)

A History of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office was founded in 1789 and remains the longest tenured law enforcement agency in the county. Soon after the United States and Great Britain ended the Revolutionary War, Sheriff James Morrison assumed office in January of 1789.

The current Sheriff, Kevin M. Kraus has served Allegheny County since 2014 as Chief Deputy and then was elected to office in January 2022 as Sheriff.

Prior to Kraus, William P. Mullen served Allegheny County since 2006 and was elected and re-elected in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017. Prior to his service at the county-level, Mullen spent thirty-seven years with the City of Pittsburgh Police. Mullen ended his time with the City of Pittsburgh as the Deputy Chief, second in command.

The Sheriff’s Office remains the most diverse office in the state, as Allegheny County Sheriff’s Deputies are the only deputies in the state with police powers. As of 2020, the office is organized into three branches: Civil, Courts, and Investigations. Additionally, Administration, Crime Prevention, K9 Unit, Police Academy and Reserves are directly overseen by the Chief Deputy John A. Kearney, like the three aforementioned branches. In total, the office employs 160+ Sheriff’s Deputies and 30+ civilians.

The Civil Division is divided into seven subdivisions (Civil ProcessEvidence, Firearms, Real Estate, Transportation, Warrants, and Writs) and is overseen by one commander, one lieutenant and three sergeants.

The Courts Division is divided into six subdivisions (Civil Court, Criminal Court, Family Court, Juvenile Court, Municipal Court, Orphans Court, and Prisoner Hospital Watch) and is overseen by one commander, two lieutenants, and eight sergeants.

The Investigations Division is divided into eight subdivisions (two criminal fugitive squads, non-support fugitive squad, crime prevention, K9 unit, uniformed deputies, housing warrants, and task forces) and is overseen by one commander, one lieutenant and three sergeants. The nine task force deputies are designated to the following agencies:

 Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF)
 Allegheny County District Attorney (DA)
 Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
 Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
 United States Marshals Service, Western District of PA (USMS)

In Remembrance...

In two hundred-plus years of existence, the Sheriff’s Office has lost seven Sheriff’s Deputies in the line of duty:

  • Deputy Sheriff Pliny D. Wells,
    • 06/20/1838 – Stabbed
  • Deputy Sheriff Harry H. Exle,
    • 08/22/1909 – Gunfire
  • Deputy Sheriff J. Davis,
    • 01/28/1913 – Stabbed
  • Deputy Sheriff Frank X. Mooney,
    • 05/19/1923 – Gunfire
  • Deputy Sheriff Meyer Van Lewen,
    • 07/19/1924 – Gunfire
  • Deputy Sheriff Edward M. Butko, Jr.,
    • 09/29/1983 – Vehicle Crash
  • Sergeant James R. Milcarek, Sr.,
    • 11/18/1983 – Vehicle Crash

History of Sheriff's

2022
2022

Kevin M. Kraus, 2022-Present

2006
2006

William P. Mullen, 2006–2022

1997
1997

Peter DeFazio, 1997–2006

1970
1970

Eugene L. Coon, 1970–1997

1954
1954

William H. Davis, 1954–1970

1951
1951

William D. McClelland, 1951

1951

Thomas E. Whitten, 1951-1954

1946
1946

Walter C. Monaghan, 1946–1951

1944
1944

John Montgomery, 1944–1945

1942
1942

Robert J. Corbett, 1942–1944

1938
1938

H. J. Heinz II, 1938–1942

1932
1932

Frank I. Gollmar, 1932–1938

1930
1930

Robert S. Cain, 1930-1932

1926
1926

Robert H. Braun, 1926–1930

1922
1922

Robert Woodside, 1922–1926

1918
1918

William S. Haddock, 1918–1922

1914
1914

George Richards, 1914–1918

1910
1910

Judd H. Bruff, 1910–1914

1906
1906

Addison Gumbert, 1906–1910

1904
1904

James W. Dickson, 1904–1906

1900
1900

William C. McKinley, 1900–1904

1896
1896

Harvey A. Lowry, 1896–1900

1894
1894

James F. Richards, 1894–1896

1890
1890

William H. McCleary, 1890–1894

1888
1888

A. McCandless, 1888–1890

1884
1884

Joseph H. Gray, 1884–1888

1882
1882

William McCallin, 1882–1884

1879
1879

T.H. Hunter, 1879–1882

1876
1876

Richard H. Fife, 1876–1878

1873
1873

John H. Hare, 1873–1875

1870
1870

H.S. Fleming, 1870–1873

1867
1867

Samuel Cluley, 1867–1870

1864
1864

John H. Stewart, 1864–1867

1861
1861

Harry Woods, 1861–1863

1857
1857

James L. Grahm, 1857–1861

1856
1856

Rody Patterson, 1856–1857

1852
1852

William Magill, 1852–1856

1850
1850

Carter Curtis, 1850–1852

1846
1846

John Forsyth, 1846–1850

1843
1843

Elijah Trovillo, 1843–1846

1840
1840

Benjamin Weaver, 1840–1843

1837
1837

Andrew Bayne, 1837–1840

1834
1834

Elijah Trovillo, 1834–1837

1831
1831

William Leckey, 1831–1834

1828
1828

W. Caven, 1828–1831

1825
1825

William Leckey, 1825–1828

1822
1822

Lazarus Stewart, 1822–1825

1819
1819

Morgan Neville, 1819–1822

1816
1816

Lazarus Stewart, 1816–1819

1809
1809

William Woods, 1809–1810

1804
1804

William McCandless, 1804–1809

1804

William Wusthoff, 1804–1809

1798
1798

Ephraim Jones, 1798–1801

1795
1795

James Sample, 1795–1798

1792
1792

Samuel Ewalt, 1792–1795

1789
1789

James Morrison, 1789–1792