ask the marshall true west john behan

Was Cochise County Sheriff John Behan a crook?

Rocky Strong – Sherman, Texas.

Behan was certainly a glad-handing, backslapping, joke-telling politician in Arizona Territory. But charges of corruption didn’t come up until around 1880, after he moved to Cochise County. He became sheriff in 1881, eight months prior to Tombstone’s famous shoot-out behind the O.K. Corral. He got a little too friendly with the Cowboys and defended their bad behaviors, which included rustling, voter fraud, and assault.

ask the marshall true west john behan
John Behan.

I can’t help but wonder if he—a Democrat—and the Earp brothers—Republicans—might have gotten along better had they been in the same political party.

Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian and vice president of the Wild West History Association. His latest book is Arizona Outlaws and Lawmen; The History Press, 2015. If you have a question, write: Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327 or email him at marshall.trimble@scottsdalecc.edu.

Related Articles

  • Cochise County Gunfighter

    If you believe popular history and the movies, Wyatt Earp cleaned up outlaw-infested Cochise County…

  • Beginning in California in the 1830s flying dragons have been a fixture in the West.…

  • On February 14th, 1871, Maricopa County was created from Yavapai and Pima Counties. Like many…