Former Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran, who spent nearly five decades in law enforcement and four terms as the county’s top cop, has died at 78 after being recently placed on hospice care.
The longtime sheriff and former Mobile police chief died Monday, July 6, peacefully and surrounded by family and close friends, according to a notice from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. Details about his service will be released in the coming days.
Cochran devoted 48 years to law enforcement. Elected sheriff in 2006, he served four consecutive terms and retired in January 2023, capping a career that ran from narcotics work on Mobile’s streets to the halls of the Alabama Statehouse.
“Even though you know it’s coming, it still hurts”
Sheriff Paul Burch said he knew Cochran’s health was declining, but the loss still hurt. Burch worked under Cochran for more than 30 years, first at the city and later at the Sheriff’s Office, and credits Cochran with shaping his career and encouraging him toward leadership — including endorsing Burch to succeed him as sheriff.
“He was really a guiding force who brought me to where I am today,” Burch said. “He was always somebody I could talk to.”
Burch said Cochran’s serious public image concealed a lighter side. The two would sometimes meet on the water, where Cochran — an avid boater — especially enjoyed Burch’s older pontoon boat and its slide.
“He would love to go up and down that slide, like a kid; those are some really fond memories,” Burch said. “He had the biggest smile on his face when he did come down that slide.”
Even after Burch’s election, the conversations continued. The two spent hours on the phone talking through ideas and decisions, and Burch said Cochran never rushed anything.
“He didn’t mind a fight in Montgomery,” Burch said. “But he had a lot of influence just because of his wisdom. He never rushed to do anything. Everything he ever did was well thought out before he put it into action.”
The pseudoephedrine fight
One of Cochran’s signature achievements was curbing methamphetamine labs. He championed stronger controls on pseudoephedrine sales, paving the way for Alabama’s purchase-tracking system, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“He was instrumental in making that happen,” Burch said, noting that meth labs in the area were not only producing drugs but exploding and burning people. The tracking legislation quickly undercut the supply chain for those operations.
Burch said Cochran had a knack for spotting future leaders — several Mobile County police chiefs came up under his guidance, he said — and his influence extended statewide.
“He made an impression as a sheriff all around the state,” Burch said. “I’ve received calls from almost every sheriff in the state between last night and this morning.”
“The community would help solve crime faster”
Lori Myles, Cochran’s longtime communications director, said Cochran transformed how the Sheriff’s Office communicated. When she joined him in 2008, the agency operated with a harder posture, often keeping information under wraps. Cochran saw social media and faster public communication as investigative tools.
“He really believed the community would help solve crime faster,” Myles said. “And he proved that he was right.”
Under Cochran, MCSO embraced Facebook and Twitter and pushed information about major events out as quickly as possible — a marked shift from the agency’s traditional posture. Myles said the philosophy was simple: “Do the right thing. Do it all the time as somebody’s watching you.”
Paradoxically, Cochran also stood by the department’s decision not to adopt body cameras, making MCSO one of the few agencies in Alabama without them. He viewed the cameras as redundant — the public already records on cell phones, surveillance cameras are everywhere — and as a crutch that pulled investigators away from piecing evidence together.
“He opened the door for the community to participate in solving crimes,” Myles said.
“We could agree to disagree”
Former Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said she met Cochran 30 years ago, when she was a young prosecutor and he was a Mobile police officer working narcotics. He later persuaded her to run for district attorney in 2012.
“We could agree to disagree, we could be formidable opponents sometimes, but we were incredible advocates for the people of Mobile County and for justice,” Rich said.
Rich credited Cochran with bringing the Mobile County Chiefs Association to the forefront, uniting police chiefs, federal partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office to prepare for hurricanes and other crises. She also noted his service beyond law enforcement, including the Drug Education Council and Penelope House.
“He believed in strong justice,” she said. “He believed in accountability for criminals, but he also believed in helping people.”
A partner to prosecutors
Former District Attorney John Tyson Jr., who served 17 years, said his closest work with Cochran came while Cochran was Mobile’s police chief. “I considered him not only the police chief, but a real partner,” Tyson said.
Cochran’s advice to visit homicide scenes shaped Tyson’s entire tenure. “There’s nothing like being on the scene to understand what has just happened,” Tyson said, estimating he attended around 700 homicide scenes over 14 years. The two also created a charging office where officers reviewed cases with an assistant district attorney before warrants were issued.
“Everybody in law enforcement in this county and this region will miss Sam Cochran. He gave us his life — that’s all a man can do,” Tyson said.
A regional partner and a statewide voice
Hoss Mack, former Baldwin County sheriff and current president of the Alabama Sheriff’s Association, said he first met Cochran in the 1980s. The two neighboring sheriffs, both elected in 2006, built task forces and intelligence-sharing systems that crossed county lines.
“You know all of us in law enforcement have our families, but then there’s also a law enforcement family,” Mack said. Cochran’s statewide influence showed in his attention to legislation: he was among the first sheriffs to assign a staffer to monitor the Alabama Legislature — Randall Dueitt, now a Mobile County commissioner.
Even on Orange Beach boat trips, conversations drifted back to pistol permit laws and public safety. Mack recalled Cochran’s signature dismissal for a bad idea: “That dog won’t hunt.”
The Mobile County Commission extended condolences to Cochran’s wife, Sabrina, his children and grandchildren.
“Few people spend a lifetime serving one community,” the commission stated. “Sheriff Cochran did, and Mobile County is better for it. We are grateful for his service, his leadership, and the example he leaves behind. May he rest in peace.”