When Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch unexpectedly took the podium at the quarterly meeting of the Mobile County Republican Party Monday night, no one expected a startling and sad announcement.
Burch announced the unexpected death of his predecessor, former Sheriff Sam Cochran. A collective gasp went through the audience, and Burch, obviously moved, left as quickly as he came.
Cochran died Monday after an illness.
He had served as Mobile County Sheriff from 2006 until he retired in 2022.
He began at the bottom and worked his way up. He rose from a police cadet in the Mobile PD up the ranks over a thirty-year career. From 1996 t0 2006, he was Mobile’s police chief.
After becoming sheriff in 2006, Cochran was re-elected in 2010, 2014, and 2018. He decided not to run again in 2022 and retired. Deputy Paul Burch, who had worked under Cochran, was elected as his successor.
Mobile County Commissioner Randall Dueitt, who worked under Cochran at the Mobile Police Department and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, gave this reaction to Cochran’s death:
“Beyond my father, Sam Cochran was the most influential man in my life for the past 30+ years. From being my boss at MPD, to being my boss at the sheriff’s office, to becoming my friend and finally my biggest supporter when I decided to run for (county commissioner), Sam, thank you for your 50 years of service to the Mobile community, but mostly thank you for believing in and supporting me and being my friend. If I have never made anyone proud, I hope I made you proud of me. I love you and will miss you dearly.”
Cochran was a Mobilian through-and-through. He was born in Mobile, graduated from Mobile’s McGill Institute, earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Mobile’s University of South Alabama, and worked his career at the City of Mobile and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. Now, his life has concluded in his beloved hometown.
Arrangements will be announced.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler is a freelance writer about the colorful and positive in Alabama — her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
