Deputy Dante Austin, LGBT liaison, found dead in Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office

A Philadelphia sheriff’s deputy who was a leader in the city’s gay community was found dead at his desk in his Center City office Friday morning.

Deputy Sheriff Dante Austin, 27, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the office headquarters at 100 South Broad St., Sheriff Jewell Williams said.

Police and medics raced to the building at 6:45 a.m. Friday, police said. Williams confirmed Austin’s death shortly after noon.

Austin, a U.S. Army veteran who was working in the Civil Enforcement Unit, was scheduled to be promoted to sergeant in the Sheriff’s Office on July 1, Williams said.

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Last June, Austin and his partner, Robert “Tito” Valdez, an assistant city solicitor, were chosen as the first Grand Marshal Couple in the Philly Pride Parade. Austin also was a board member of the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, (DVLF), a grant provider to LGBTQ nonprofit organizations.