Longtime Bel Air Police Department officer and deputy chief Armand Dupre passed away last night following a year-long battle with cancer. He was 54.
Dupre served as deputy chief until his retirement several months ago following a career in law enforcement spanning more than three decades. As deputy chief, he was responsible for the department’s day-to-day operation and representing its interests in a variety of community groups.
“Armand was a courageous guy, well-liked by the officers, a great administrator and a very distinguished police officer,” Bel Air Mayor Dave Carey said.
No details of arrangements were available Wednesday morning, and Matrangola was not immediately available for comment.
Bel Air Town Commissioner Eddie Hopkins said he held a “career-long” friendship with Dupre. The two graduated together as members of the Harford County’s Sheriff’s Office third-ever academy class in 1979, and continued to work with him in law enforcement, as a representative of the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, and as an elected official.
“One of the things I always respected about Armand was that he was a true community policeman,” Hopkins said. “He probably had no desire to go to a larger company. Armand seemed genuinely interested in staying in Bel Air and doing what was right for the community.”
Hopkins said he had a chance to catch up with Dupre at a retirement party held for him recently.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that you develop a real bond with other officers,” he said. “When I had the chance to spend some quiet moments with him, it brought up fond memories of cases we’d worked together, times we’d spent. It drives home how precious life is.”
Another member of that 1979 academy class was Gregory Carlevaro, now a colonel with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and its chief deputy. He recalled seeing Dupre early in their time at the academy.
“We’re all getting to know each other, sizing each other up, and there’s Armand with his slow-spoken demeanor, low-key, compassionate,” he said. “You start looking, thinking, can this guy handle the streets? What a surprise it was.”
Carlevaro said that same level-headed nature and low-key manner were an essential part of Dupre’s success, earning the respect of the junior officers in his department. He said Dupre retained those traits even in the days before his death, when Carlevaro visited him.
“He had what’s referred to as reverent power, the respect of subordinates, what you get when you have a history of making good decisions,” he said. “We’ve lost a great brother.”
Harford County District C Councilman “Capt’n” Jim McMahan also remembered Dupre as an officer dedicated to the town he served.
“Deputy Chief Dupre was all about Community. A tradition that still exists among the police officers in the County Seat,” McMahan wrote in an e-mail to The Dagger. “He had the ideal attitude for our town. He was engaging, helpful, knowledgeable and professional. He was cut out of a special mold.”
From the Schimunek Funeral Home of Bel Air:
DUPRE, Armand George Born in Baltimore on April 29, 1957, Armand George Dupre passed away peacefully in his White Hall home with family by his side on the evening of July 26, 2011 after battling cancer for more than a year. A thirty-three year veteran of the Bel Air Police Department, Armand is survived by wife and best friend Karen Dupre and son Ryan Dupre and was predeceased by his parents, Concetta and Roger Dupre, and brother Albert Rommal. Armand will also be remembered by many as a caring uncle, great uncle and godfather. Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Schimunek Funeral Home of Bel Air, 610 W. MacPhail Rd. (at route 24), on Saturday from 7-9 pm and Sunday from 3-5 and 7-9 pm with funeral services at 11 am on Monday. Interment to follow at Highview Memorial Gardens.
Visitation
Saturday, July 30, 2011 | 07:00pm – 09:00pmSunday, July 31, 2011 | 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Sunday, July 31, 2011 | 7:00p.m. – 09:00pm
Schimunek Funeral Home of Bel Air, Inc.
610 West MacPhail Road, Bel Air, Maryland 21014 | (410) 638-5360Funeral Service
Monday, August 01, 2011 | 11:00am
Schimunek Funeral Home of Bel Air, Inc.
610 West MacPhail Road, Bel Air, Maryland 21014 | (410) 638-5360Interment
Monday, August 01, 2011 | 12:30pm
Highview Memorial Gardens
3433 Fallston Road, Fallston, Maryland 21047 | (410) 557-9390
God Bless you Armand. You served Bel Air well as both Officer and Deputy Chief. You were a friend to many and will be missed. Rest in Peace Brother. My prayers are with your family.
I met Armand 30 years ago when I was a Commissioner in the District Court. He was a gentleman and an all around good guy. Some of the older cops looked down on the commissioners, many of whom were mere law students (like me). Armand was the kind of guy who would suggest to the novice commissioner that we might not want to incarcerate somebody for certain things like shoplifting and the like, knowing that a judge was never going to sentence a particular offense type to a jail stay. Thanks Armand. Gonna miss ya.
On behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #128, representing professional police officers from Aberdeen-Bel Air-Havre de Grace, we offer our condolences to the Bel Air Police Department family, and the family of D/Chief Durpre.
As a former employee of the Bel Air Police Department, I had the opportunity to work with then Sgt. Dupre. He was very well liked and a great supervisor. He will be missed not only by his family, but his law enforcement family. RIP.
Respectfully,
Jason Neidig
Vice President
RIP, Armand. You will be missed. My prayers are with your family.
Mary Jane Shafer
2004, HLA, Alum