Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Edward Coopman suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to arrest a suspect who was creating a disturbance at Kunzer's Beach Resort in Oak Orchard. When Sheriff Coopman asked the subjects to quiet down, a scuffle ensued. Sheriff Coopman collapsed and could not be revived. He died at the scene at 2:30 a.m. The subject was arrested and charged with resisting an officer and disorderly conduct. He pleaded guilty in conjunction with charges of homicide by negligent operation of a car from a previous incident and was sentenced to two years. He received additional time for escaping from a work farm. Sheriff Coopman had served as sheriff with the Oconto County Sheriff's Department for over five years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-WI-0F1E6AD7- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Sheriff Coopman gave the Oconto County Sheriff's Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Oconto community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Coopman.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff Edward Thomas Coopman is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In WI, 23 of 317 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 7.3% of this state's fallen. That is 7.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward Thomas Coopman's cause is highlighted.
How Edward Thomas Coopman Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Edward Thomas Coopman is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Oconto County Sheriff's Department are honored on badge.nw.