Chesterfield promotes Dupuis to police chief
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Chesterfield County Circuit Court Judge Frederick G. Rockwell III (left) looks on as new Police Chief Thierry Dupuis fills out the required paperwork after his swearing-in ceremony.

The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors last week officially promoted Thierry Dupuis, 50, to become its new police chief effective immediately. Former Police Chief Carl Baker is using up his vacation time for the remainder of this month.

"I am delighted to be working with Chief Dupuis personally and in the process that was used to select him," said Chairman Kelly Miller.

"Col. Dupuis follows in the footsteps of some extraordinary men…and has proven himself worthy of taking the Chesterfield Police Department into the future," added Vice Chairman Renny Humphrey.

The Police Chief Selection Committee of Miller, County Administrator Lane Ramsey, Commonwealth's Attorney Billy Davenport, recently retired Deputy Chief Jim Bourque, and former Superintendent Billy Cannaday unanimously recommended Dupuis to the county board, which, in turn, unanimously approved Dupuis.

"We evaluated our police department to see if we needed to look nationally," explained Ramsey, "and concluded we had one of the best in the country. The entire committee agrees we had the highest caliber of applicants internally."

The search committee focused on five applicants from within the department. According to two sources, Lt. Col. Andy Scruggs, a 33-year veteran in Chesterfield, was the frontrunner until a background check raised questions about fraternization.

Dupuis called it "an honor to be selected." He is a 28-year veteran of the Chesterfield County Police Department and has served in all major divisions of the department. Previously, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel and was deputy chief of police in charge of support. For three years before that, he was a major and served as operational support bureau commander. In 1977, Dupuis' career began as a deputy sheriff for the city of Richmond before he switched to being a patrol officer for the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Campus Police Department. He started as a patrolman for Chesterfield in 1979.

Dupuis has an MBA from Averett College, a Bachelor of Science in administration of justice from VCU, an associate's degree in police science from John Tyler Community College and is a graduate of Fork Union Military Academy.

He was born in Chinon, France, and he and his wife, Mary, have two sons, Christopher, 21, and Jonathan, 16, and a daughter, Elizabeth, 12.

From 1987-1995, Dupuis served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. He received an honorable discharge.

His professional development includes the completion of the Drug Unit Commanders Academy in Quantico, Va., the Professional Executive Leadership School at the University of Richmond, and Chesterfield's T.Q.I. University. For the past 18 months, Dupuis has been an adjunct professor at VCU in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

He is also a member of the advisory board for the Chesterfield Boy's and Girl's Club and sits on the executive board of S.A.F.E., a substance abuse prevention coalition.

Chesterfield has proudly pointed to its low cost per capita ($148) for its police services. Henrico County's per capita cost is $180 as is Virginia's. The national figure is $254. For suburban counties, Chesterfield has just 1.66 officers per 1,000 citizens compared to 2.7 officers nationwide. At that rate, Chesterfield could increase its staff to 804 officers though it's currently operating with 470, 35 officers under its authorized strength.