Retired Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Dawn Mercurio dies at 53

PITTSBURGH — Retired Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Dawn Mercurio died Wednesday at age 53.

The bureau announced her death on Thursday with a statement from her family.

Mercurio’s family said she fell ill in Sept. 2020 after being diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a rare form of kidney cancer.

She started her career in policing in 2007 after deciding to leave teaching. Her family said her first assignment was at the Zone 2 station.

Mercurio became a plainclothes detective before transferring to Zone 6. She was promoted to sergeant in 2018.

Her family’s statement concluded saying, “Sergeant Mercurio spent her last months of life with a smile ear to ear, playing with her grandbabies and spending precious time with her loving husband and children. While Dawn will be incredibly missed, we know for a fact she is in heaven worshiping Jesus face to face.”

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