Johnny Behan
| John H. Behan | |
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| Born |
John Harris Behan October 24, 1844 Westport, Missouri, USA |
| Died | June 7, 1912 (aged 67) Tucson, Arizona |
| Cause of death | Arterial sclerosis |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Sheriff, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, Member of Territorial Legislature; prison warden |
| Known for | Arizona Territory legislative representative; Cochise County Undersheriff. Testified against Earps and Doc Holliday during Spicer Hearing; member of "Ten Percent Gang" |
| Spouse(s) | Victoria Zaff (divorced); Josephine Marcus (common-law) |
| Children | Albert |
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John Harris Behan (October 24, 1844 – June 7, 1912) was sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his opposition to the Earps. Behan was sheriff of Yavapai County from 1871 to 1873. He was married, and had two children, but his wife divorced him, accusing him of consorting with prostitutes. He was elected to the Seventh Arizona Legislative Assembly, representing Yavapai County. In 1881, Wyatt Earp served for about five months as undersheriff of the eastern half of Pima County. When Wyatt resigned, Behan was appointed to fill his place, which included the mining boomtown Tombstone. When Cochise County was formed in February 1881, Behan was appointed as its first sheriff. Tombstone became the new county seat and Behan's headquarters. Sadie Marcus was his mistress, possibly as early as 1875 in Tip Top, Arizona, and certainly from 1880 until she found him in bed with another woman and kicked him out in mid-1881.
After the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Behan testified at length against the Earps. He supported the cowboys' statements that they had raised their hands and offered no resistance, and that the Earps and Doc Holliday had murdered three cowboys. After the Earps were exonerated, Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp was maimed in an ambush on December 28, 1881, and assistant deputy Morgan Earp was killed by assassins on March 19, 1882. The outlaw cowboys named as suspects in both shootings were either let go on a technicality or were provided alibis by fellow cowboys. Wyatt Earp killed one of the suspects, Frank Stilwell, in Tucson. Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt and his federal posse set out after other suspects, pursued by Behan and his county posse composed mostly of cowboys.
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