Philly Sheriff's Deputy Found Dead At Desk From Apparent Suicide

PHILADELPHIA — A member of the Philadelphia Sheriff's Department was found dead at his desk Friday morning, according to officials.

The sheriff's office said Deputy Sheriff Dante Austin was found dead this morning at his desk in the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office.

According to the sheriff's office, Austin believed to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. However, official confirmation by the Medical Examiner’s Office is pending.

Austin, 27, was an Army veteran and the sheriff's LGBTQ community liaison.

“This is a tragedy for the Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Austin’s family and the local LGBTQ community,” said Sheriff Jewell Williams.

The sheriff's office has coordinated with the Managing Director’s Office to provide grief counselors for employees

The office closed at noon Friday out of respect for Austin.

“Dante was a person who believed in and cared about everybody," Williams. “He had the highest score on the Deputy Sheriff’s exam when he was hired in November 2013. He was our first openly gay deputy sheriff and we promoted him to become our first LGBTQ community liaison in May 2017. He was scheduled to be promoted to Sergeant on July 1, 2019."